Sins of the Father
by Quatermass
Summary: Does being the son of a vile man guarantee that you become vile yourself? Harry Potter always knew he was a freak, with his snake-like eyes. And when his father comes to claim him, it will send him on a quest for identity and acceptance. After all, you have to fight for acceptance when your father is Orochimaru...
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

I must be bloody _insane_. I have only just started one pure _Naruto_ fanfic, and now, I'm going to do a crossover, and one of the more popular crossovers on this website! Namely, _Naruto_ and Harry Potter! I'm half burnt out doing other fics, like the penultimate episode of _Harry Gainsborough and the Philosopher's Stone_ (Book 2, and the third story, of my Cetra Heritage Saga, a crossover between Harry Potter and _Final Fantasy VII_ ), as well as the aforementioned pure _Naruto_ fanfic, _Observations of a Wannabe Kunoichi_ , and so many others.

And yet, this idea wouldn't go away, poking and prodding away at me until it got its way and got put down onto paper. It's not an entirely original one: I have seen about three fanfics with this as a central conceit, or at least a related one. And yet, there's something perversely appealing about it. It is a what-if of staggering proportions.

 _What if Orochimaru was Harry Potter's father?_

There are a ludicrous amount of crossover tales that diddle with Harry Potter's parentage, and yet, out of all those concepts, it was this one that appealed to me most, perversely enough.

I was also partly inspired by sakurademonalchemist, and their Harry Potter and _Naruto_ crossovers in particular. To a certain degree, this story is a homage to their stories. But I hope that this story stands on its own two feet. It will also be the first story where I undertake some serious bashing of Harry Potter characters: while I am still considering whether to do so in my rewrite of _Lux in Tenebris Lucet_ , I have definitely decided to bash Dumbledore and James Potter (I'd also say the Dursleys, but they deserve bashing more than these two). Any others, well, I will think about when the time comes. I'm undecided as to whether Harry will go to Hogwarts in this story, and as such, I am wondering whether to bash Ronald Weasley, though I'm leaning more towards not doing so.

There are hundreds of fics with this title on this website, and already nearly a score of _Naruto_ fics with the same title. Hopefully, this one will stand out, for the right reasons. I also want to look at how Orochimaru being the father of Harry will influence others.

Anyway, the usual disclaimers. Firstly, this story will be heavily annotated. You don't like that? Bugger off.

Secondly, I am not going to slavishly use the Japanese honorifics, save for sensei and sama. Even so, I will interchangeably use Japanese and English terms for the jutsus and a few other terms.

Thirdly, there **_will_** be spoilers for both Harry Potter and _Naruto_ , especially for the latter, given how Orochimaru names Harry. If you don't want to be spoiled, then stop right here.

Fourthly, this is an M-rated work for a reason. There are very dark themes, as well as profanity, sexual references, and violence. You have been warned.

Fifthly, this is one of my more experimental fanfics. Updates will be sporadic and irregular.

Finally, the following is a fan-written work. _Naruto_ and Harry Potter are the property of their respective rights owners. Please support the official release. Otherwise, Orochimaru might decide to make you his latest vessel.


	2. Chapter 1: The Father of a Freak

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **THE FATHER OF A FREAK**

 _I'm nuclear, I'm wild,_

 _I'm breaking up inside_

 _A heart of broken glass, defiled_

 _Deep inside the abandoned child._

-Nuclear, _by Mike Oldfield_. 

_Utopia_. It is a word that is generally considered to mean a wonderful place, a place of hidden marvels, a place of perfection. But the literal meaning of the word is 'no-place'. As in, 'no such place'. Utopias do not exist in the world, and any place that seems to be one on the surface inevitably has rot and canker beneath.

A case in point is Magical Britain. A society that would inspire awe in those who first learn of it, only to learn that there is something very rotten in the state of Magical Britain. It is a world that all too frequently looks down upon the mundane with condescension at best, and at worst, contempt and hatred. Magical Britain's technology is at Victorian levels at best, save for a few innovations here and there, like the Wizarding Wireless. And many of their attitudes are downright medieval.

Six years ago, their world was saved by a miracle, a miracle that was supposedly the work of an infant child. In truth, it was the willing sacrifice of a mother for her child, using forbidden rituals in order to protect her child.

But that was not how the Wizarding World saw it. The child, despite living in complete ignorance of his fame, became known as the Boy Who Lived for his marvellous achievement in saving their lives and their way of life.

To one man, he was the cause of his complete and utter humiliation and near demise. This man would stop at nothing to track down the Boy Who Lived and kill him.

To another, the Boy Who Lived was a convenient tool, a messianic figurehead that he could shape and mould, playing the role of a mentor. Then, at the right time, he would be disposed of, either dying in battle against the Dark Lord, or else pegged as the Dark Lord's next coming.

Another viewed the Boy Who Lived as the Second Coming…of the boy's odious father. Despite having loved the boy's mother, the man could not get over the fact that the boy had been sired by his greatest enemy, who had stolen the woman he loved. The fact that the man drove the woman away with a vicious insult in the heat of the moment meant little.

Not many people truly cared about the Boy Who Lived. Of the few who truly cared, one was in Azkaban, sent there by treachery from both sides. Another wallowed in misery, torn betwixt human and animal nature, unable to cope with his grief.

There was one person who was, until recently, unaware of the boy's survival. It was for that reason that he was now making his way through England, after nearly eight years.

* * *

Harry Potter knew why he was called a freak by his relatives. The young boy's eyes were not like others' eyes. Their pupils were round, dark holes, whereas his were slits, like a cat, or a snake. Slitted pupils, within golden-green irises. Lank black hair framed a slender, ascetic face, marred by the strange eyes, and the jagged, lightning bolt-like scar on his forehead.

He was stared at and jeered at by fellow students, all too willingly thought of by adults as a freak and a troublemaker. He was used as a servant by his relatives, no, a _slave_ (a servant got more recompense than a cupboard used as a bedroom and small token meals), treated as a punching bag by his cousin and uncle.

There was a fantasy common to many a child, even those who are treated well by their parents or guardians: the changeling fantasy. The desire for a different family, that their true family is royalty or magical or aliens of some kind.

Harry Potter was no different. His aunt and uncle claimed that his parents had died, drunkards, in a car accident, the same accident that gave him his scar. But he thought that they were liars.

Had it been any other circumstance, they would have been right. True, James and Lily Potter were magical, and when he was eleven, Harry was destined to enter the world of magic. True, James and Lily Potter died not in a car accident, but at the hands (or rather, the wand) of Lord Voldemort, a Halfblood who concealed his heritage and espoused blood purity views.

But they had one thing wrong, though they did not know it.

James Potter was _not_ Harry's father.

And for all Harry's wishing for a parent to whisk him away, he had better be careful what he wished for, lest he got exactly that…

* * *

The man who was Harry's true father was a tall, slender man with vaguely androgynous, ascetic features that looked vaguely snake-like. His eyes glinted yellow and looked very much like those of a snake, framed by lank black hair, the latter currently tied up in a ponytail. Combined with a black business suit, he looked like an unconventional but smart businessman, with a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes. He could have used a _genjutsu_ , and if he needed to, he did. But there was nothing like occasionally scaring some coward by pulling his glasses down his nose, and glaring at someone.

His name was Orochimaru, the Snake Sage, and one of the _Sannin_ , the Three Legendary Ninja of Konoha.

In a way, Orochimaru was in his element. Every ninja worth their salt had infiltration and espionage capability, so gathering information was easy. He had come back to England after a falling-out he had had with his previous comrades in Akatsuki. He felt they were being a little too hard on him, wanting to possess Itachi Uchiha's body, and with it, the _Sharingan_. He guessed he was lucky to get away with his life. And so, like he had when he had been first banished from Konoha, he left the Elemental Countries for the outside world.

For a time after his banishment from Konoha, he decided to see the world. Not just the Elemental Countries, but the world it was connected to. If there was a driving force for everything Orochimaru did, it was a thirst for knowledge. He had decided to seek it here, in England, only to find it in the throes of a civil war almost the entire mundane populace was ignorant of.

Of course, in many a war, it was not good versus evil, but rather differing shades of evil fighting, even more so here than in Konoha. On one side, you had Lord Voldemort, a blood supremacist lunatic who believed Mudbloods and Halfbloods to be inferior, and Muggles to be lower than animals. On the other, you had a rather more insidious foe, all the more so for its supposed good intentions. For all Orochimaru's hatred towards his own village and their attempts at being moral in the world of ninja, he had to admit that they had far less hypocrisy than Albus Dumbledore and his Order of the Phoenix. At least Hiruzen Sarutobi, for all his soft ways, was a warrior in the end, and one who would fight for his beliefs. Whereas Dumbledore…he preached forgiveness and moral rectitude, but in truth, he stood for keeping Magical Britain stable… _his_ way. He manipulated things from the background like a puppetmaster, and while Orochimaru would do the same thing, he at least didn't intend to deceive anyone by appealing to morality. Only by appealing to lust for power.

Orochimaru had revelled in the chaos the civil war was causing. It allowed him to study the various wizards and witches. Initially, he took their corpses. Then, a few he took alive. Mostly Death Eaters, if only because he found their leader and his obsession with snakes both amusing and insulting. Plus, the Dark Mark was so fascinating, reminding him of various seals back home, including the ones used on members of ROOT. Not to mention his own Cursed Seal.

Orochimaru considered Voldemort a rank amateur, and if it weren't for the fact that few wizards had ever heard of the Elemental Countries, he would have considered the wannabe ruler of Magical Britain to be a plagiarist. A thing for snakes? Check. A desire for immortality (if the rumours were true)? Check. Bearded old goat interfering in his plans? Check. A powerful mark on his followers? Check, though Voldemort was a wuss by comparison. Orochimaru put part of his soul into the Cursed Mark, and it enhanced his minions' capabilities, unlike the Dark Mark.

It was a chance meeting in the street that had led him to meet one Lily Potter. She had fled from her home, having learned that her husband and his mentor, Dumbledore, had dosed her with so-called 'love potions', although all they did was induce an artificial infatuation. Orochimaru saved her from an ambush by Death Eaters, and then took her with him for a few days as he travelled around England. He was already considering how to use magic to his advantage, perhaps use Lily somehow as breeding stock. He managed to seduce her (no mean feat: she was understandably suspicious of him), but not long after finishing the deed, had been ambushed by James Potter and his friends.

He remembered the pain of shedding his old body after being flung out of a window (several storeys up in a hotel) by a Banishing spell, and then having to flee for his life. Potter had used his contacts in the Aurors, and Orochimaru was forced to flee Magical Britain with his figurative tail tucked between his legs. He decided to cut his losses: the mages of the outside world were more trouble than they were worth, though he maintained a few contacts here and there.

In the wake of his fleeing Akatsuki, he decided now would be the time to come back. So he discreetly contacted one of his contacts, Mundungus Fletcher, an amoral man who would do anything as long as there was money in it for him. Orochimaru learned from Fletcher that Lily, along with that odious husband of hers, had perished fighting Voldemort, though somehow, their child had vanquished Voldemort. The Boy Who Lived was somewhere in secret. Although most believed that he was being trained in secret by Dumbledore, Fletcher had it on good authority (from Dumbledore himself, no less) that the boy was being raised by relatives.

Orochimaru was intrigued, despite himself. During his brief time with Lily, she had railed against her spiteful sister, one Petunia Dursley, and her walrus of a husband, Vernon. Had the woman not been married, Orochimaru would have taken more time to find her. As it happened, it was easier to find a Vernon and Petunia Dursley. He would have searched the whole country if he needed to. As it happened, all he needed to do was to search the phonebooks for London and its suburbs. One of the best candidates was in Surrey, in a suburb with the godawful name of Little Whingeing. And it was called 'Privet Drive'.

When he arrived here, courtesy of a few well-placed _Shunshins_ , he found himself in a suburb of uniform houses in bland colours. He sneered at the uniformity. For all the fact that he hated Konoha, it was at least vibrant and full of life and individuality. It was, in a word, interesting, though he'd be more interested in seeing Konoha razed to the ground.

But this? There was little life, despite the gardens and children playing. This was but a hollow imitation. These were merely houses as far as he could tell, not homes.

He soon found Number Four, Privet Drive. His ears caught a roar of anger, a blow, and a yelp of pain. A sneering of 'freak', and 'don't show those eyes to me'.

Orochimaru was intrigued. He also felt a sudden stab of anger. While he himself would not balk at harming a child by any means (he had done so many times in his experiments), it did remind him too much of the times he had spent after his parents died. About being called a freak. About his snake-like eyes.

He was going to enjoy this far more than he normally would have. And that was saying something.

Calming himself, he walked up to the door, and knocked on it. It took a minute or so to be answered (he heard some threatening mumbling and some pitiful whimpering in the interim), before finally, a fat man with a moustache (Lily's assessment was spot-on: the man did look like a belligerent walrus!) opened it. "Yes?! Can I help you?"

"Most certainly," Orochimaru said.

Something seemed to tell Vernon Dursley something wasn't quite right. So he said, rather brusquely, "Whatever you're selling, we don't want it."

Before he could close the door, Orochimaru cast a simple _genjutsu_ on the man: plunging his vision into darkness. It was pitifully easy to do so. But what would you expect from a civilian, let alone one with no knowledge of shinobi?

Orochimaru pushed through into the house, then closed the door behind him. Vernon Dursley stumbled around, blindly. "What did you do to me?!" he snarled.

Orochimaru merely smiled, before jabbing the man's throat in a specific spot. His vocal cords were paralysed, and he would find it difficult, though not impossible, to breathe.

"What did you do to him?!" shrieked a harpy voice. Orochimaru turned to face a woman with a rather equine face and no charm, though there was a resemblance.

"Ah, Petunia Evans, I presume," Orochimaru said in his habitual, low rasp of a voice.

"Who are you? What did you do to my husband?!" the woman shrieked, though her eyes widened at his mentioning her name.

"I am Orochimaru," he said with a smile, taking off his glasses, and giving her a glare from his ophidian eyes. "As for the walrus, I blinded him and made him a mute. Maybe I should deafen him and break his spine, go for the full crippling package."

She stared at his eyes. "You're…you're just like him…the freak…" She seemed to gather what little foolhardy courage she had, and screeched, "Get out! We don't want freaks like you here!"

"And what, pray tell, will you do if I refuse?" Orochimaru said with a chuckle.

"Then I'll call the police," she snapped, running for a phone. Quick as a flash, Orochimaru threw a kunai at the phone, destroying it, and sending its component parts to the ground in a loud clatter.

He then stalked up to her, grinning. "I will ask you once. Once you give me a satisfactory answer, I will finish my business here. Where is Harry Potter? Where is my son?"

Petunia blinked. "But…you can't be James Potter! I've met him, and he's dead, and…"

Orochimaru reached out and grabbed the woman by the throat. "And he is not Harry's father. _I am_. Answer my question, and I will finish my business here. You won't be bothered by anything or anyone ever again."

Petunia choked out, "In the back garden. He's…weeding."

"Thank you," Orochimaru said. He then felled the woman with a chop to the neck. Not out of any kindness, mind you. But because he didn't want her calling the authorities or running out to get help. A similar blow felled the walrus.

* * *

The boy was weeding, like the horse bitch said. A pitiful, scrawny thing. But Orochimaru said, softly, "Harry."

The boy started, and then looked up at the man. "H-H-Hello," he stammered. "Who are you?"

Orochimaru studied the boy. The eyes were a mixture of his and Lily's, with the snake-like pupils in green-gold irises. The hair too. Eventually, Orochimaru said, "I am your father, Harry."

The boy blinked, before saying, "Liar. My father is dead."

"No, the man you thought to be a father, as well as your mother, is dead. I am Orochimaru. Come."

"Why?"

Orochimaru sighed. Normally, he would talk and persuade. But he was almost out of time. Swiftly, he rendered the child unconscious (with a _genjutsu_ rather than a blow to the neck), and draped him over his shoulder. He then bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood, and, rolling up his sleeve, swiped it across an elaborate tattoo. He then slammed his hands onto the ground. " _Kuchiyose no Jutsu!_ " he snarled.

A massive snake appeared in a blast of smoke. "What is your bidding, Orochimaru?"

"Simple," Orochimaru said, leading the snake into the house. "Kill everyone in here. You may eat them. I hope you aren't on a diet: one of them's rather fatty."

A scream of fright from the stairs drew their attention. Orochimaru beheld what must've been the spawn of the horse and the walrus. Interestingly, when you bred those two, you got a pig. "Two of them, actually," Orochimaru said.

"No problem," the snake hissed. And then, it surged up the stairs towards the fat boy. Orochimaru chuckled as he heard the screams and the wet crunching noises. He told Petunia he'd be gone once he finished with his business, that he wouldn't bother them any longer. It was surprisingly hard to make a corpse bothered about anything, which was how he intended to leave her, and her family, as.

He looked at the child draped over his shoulder. Yes…he could feel the chakra humming within the boy, and even the magic within. He had potential.

And Orochimaru intended to exploit that. One way, or another…

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it. A heartwarming family reunion…not.**

 **The original version of this story I discarded after writing the first and most of the second chapter. It portrayed how Orochimaru and Lily first met, and I discarded it for two reasons. One, I had Orochimaru effectively date rape Lily with the help of a** ** _genjutsu_** **, and I felt** ** _very_** **uncomfortable writing it (and I am sure many of you would have felt uncomfortable reading it), even if I didn't actually write the act itself. Two, I wanted to get to the crux of the story quicker: namely, Harry getting taken from Privet Drive and to the Elemental Countries.**

 **So I decided to have Orochimaru seduce Lily, and have it done offscreen, so to speak. He would have done worse things to her later (this is Orochimaru we're talking about here), but he didn't get to. I want this story to be a dark one, but I felt I was going too far too fast.**

 **Now, keep in mind that I'm not usually one who writes bashing stories. Obviously, Dumbledore and James Potter's actions here are not those of canon. That being said, I don't think much of the canonical James Potter, given that he was a bully and a lech. Good-hearted at the core, true, but Snape, for all the fact that Snape is a nasty, bitter bastard, has a good point when he calls James Potter a bully.**

 **Anyway, I tend to reconstruct many characters who are bashed, rather than deconstruct them. This was meant to be a refreshing change. It's rather onerous, actually, or at least so far.**

 **No numbered annotations this chapter.**


	3. Chapter 2: Snake Versus Toad

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **SNAKE VERSUS TOAD**

It was strange, Orochimaru reflected, to learn one had a son, especially from a single dalliance. He had assumed that James Potter would have discarded any spawn he knew wasn't his. After all, those ophidian eyes were not natural. Orochimaru himself had been teased for his own without mercy. The only one who had teased him with anything like affection had been his former teammate Jiraiya.

Orochimaru decided it was useless to dwell on fripperies. The boy could be his greatest asset, or his greatest liability.

He was already back in the Elemental Countries, making his way to Rice Paddy Country, a country he had all but conquered, and was turning into his base of operations, Sound Country. He was founding a new Hidden Village, Oto or 'Sound', though it wasn't a village as much as a series of secret facilities where he not only performed his experiments, but also began building up his army. Amongst his goals now included the destruction of Konoha.

He decided to stop for the night in an inn, albeit under a _Henge_. While there were few who would even dare to stand up to him (he was an S-Ranked fugitive ninja in the Bingo Book after all, along with a 'flee on sight' annotation), it was better to be safe than sorry, to avoid drawing attention to himself. Once in his room, he laid the boy down on one of the beds. He had travelled swiftly, so it had been but a day since the Dursleys. The boy would probably be hungry, thirsty, and need to use the toilet (the _genjutsu_ suppressed such bodily functions for a short time), but he would be fine.

The inn room would suffice. Of course, it wasn't really luxurious, and the view it had of an alley outside was far from inspiring. But it would do.

He removed the _genjutsu_ , and Harry's eyes opened. _So much like my own_ , Orochimaru thought to himself wistfully. They then widened upon seeing Orochimaru. "You!"

"Is that all I get? A single pronoun(1)?" Orochimaru asked with a chuckle. "Are you all right?"

"I…I need to go…"

"There's a toilet through there," Orochimaru said, indicating a door.

As the boy hurried into it and closed the door, Orochimaru kept an ear out, lest the boy try to escape. As it was, he seemed to be more concerned with relieving himself. He could also feel the chakra levels of the boy. Prodigious already. At least a _jounin_ level…within the body of a seven year old boy.

After finishing his business and washing his hands, the boy walked out. "Where am I? And who are you?"

"We are in an inn in the Elemental Countries. Namely, Tea Country. And as I told you earlier, I am your father, Orochimaru. Where else did you think you got your lovely eyes?"

"But…but I was told my parents had died…in a car crash…"

Orochimaru sneered. "Was that what that horse masquerading as your aunt told you? It's true that your mother is dead, along with her husband. But they were murdered, not killed in an accident. Murdered, Harry, by a madman." He had no compunction calling Voldemort a madman, even though it was the pot calling the kettle black.

"But…how can…how can you be my father if you weren't my mother's husband?" Harry asked, blinking in confusion. Right, seven years old. Probably didn't understand what an affair was. "And what do you mean, murdered?"

"In answer to your first question, your mother didn't like her husband much." Which was a considerable understatement, given the state he had found her in, distraught, betrayed, and thus, _pliable_. "I was there to comfort her, and then one thing led to another. As for being murdered by a madman, I did tell the truth. Just not the whole truth. Your parents were magic-users. Your would-be father a wizard, and your mother a witch. Therefore, Harry, you are a wizard."

The boy blinked. "But…I can't be a wizard. I just can't. Anyway…my aunt and uncle…they hate the word magic."

"Not surprising," Orochimaru said. "Your mother spoke to me on a number of matters, and her sister, your aunt, was one of them. She was apparently jealous and petty that your mother got magic, but she didn't. In any case, you don't need to worry about them anymore. I persuaded them to let you come with me. I am your father after all." He failed to mention that Harry's relatives had sated the hunger of one of his snake summons.

"Are you a wizard too?" Harry asked.

Orochimaru chuckled. "No. I am somewhat better. I am a shinobi…or maybe you'd know us as ninjas?"

"Ninjas?!" Harry all but yelped. "You mean with the swords and nunchuks and all that(2)?"

Again, Orochimaru chuckled. "True, but there are less turtles than you'd think. My specialty is in summoning snakes. I am also one of the _Sannin_ , a trio of legendary ninja, certainly one of the strongest ninja in this world."

"This world?"

"Yes. The Elemental Countries are isolated from the rest of the world. We are very far away from your relatives."

Harry nodded, subdued. It was a lot to take in, after all. "So…you're really strong, then?"

"Yes. And I know many techniques, known as jutsus. By the way, Harry, I am one of the few in this country who can speak English. Most of those here speak Japanese. I will have to teach you that, as well as how to fight. The Elemental Countries are filled with ninjas, and it would not do well for the son of one such as I to fall prey to any brigand or a mediocre shinobi." Orochimaru gave a smile that he hoped was affectionate. "I shall return later. Oh, and the name 'Harry' is virtually unheard of here. I will need to give you an assumed name."

The boy didn't really protest, save for in his eyes. "What do you want to call me?"

A good question. Orochimaru had once idly wondered what he would name his child, if he ever had one. He had decided on a name that would be good for either gender. "Mitsuki," he said. "Mitsuki Toukou(3)."

"Mitsuki…" Harry murmured, trying out his name.

"Good. We will go down and have dinner," Orochimaru said. "In the morning, we shall leave for home."

* * *

Unfortunately, Orochimaru's luck made a turn for the worse. Out of all the inns in all the Elemental Countries, he had to pick the one where Jiraiya showed up at that very time.

He was under a _Henge_ , and so too was Harry, but a light transformation, designed to prevent civilians and your rank and file ninja from discovering him. As a precaution more than anything else. But a _Sannin_ was more than capable of seeing through it. And the man who walked through the door was most definitely a _Sannin_ , even if he was a perverted buffoon.

He was well-built, bulky and muscular, a bear of a man dressed in robes, with a mane of white hair, red kabuki-like marks on his face (intersecting with his eyes), and a metal headband with the symbol for 'oil' on it. More often than not, he had a broad grin on his face. Orochimaru wondered, on a few occasions, given the man's more leonine characteristics, why he didn't have lions as a summon, than his massive toads. Then again, lions were noble creatures (Orochimaru could say that, even though he much preferred snakes), and you couldn't call Jiraiya noble by any means.

But he was powerful. Despite spending much of his time writing those puerile and perverted _Icha Icha_ books, Jiraiya never sat on his laurels. In fact, if it weren't for his wanderlust and perverted attitude, he would probably have been a shoe-in for Hokage. Of course, if Orochimaru couldn't make Hokage, then it stood to reason that Jiraiya was just as unsuitable.

Orochimaru could only hope that his one-time friend and comrade would not look in his direction. Because if he did…

He was looking in their direction. Shit!

And now, Jiraiya's eyes were narrowing. And there was little surprise in them either. He had _known_ he would be _here_. He noticed the eyes flickering over to Harry, and where his eyes were narrowing, they were now widening in shock.

They had all but finished their meal when Orochimaru made his decision. "Mitsuki," he said quietly, "go to our room. Don't open it to anyone but me. Understand?"

"But…"

"Do it," Orochimaru hissed.

* * *

Once the boy had left, Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, before indicating that they should take this outside. Orochimaru nodded. He followed the perverted toad outside, and into the same alley he had seen from the room.

"What do you want, Jiraiya?" Orochimaru demanded.

"Huh. Straight to the point. No 'how's it going?', or 'nice to see you'," Jiraiya said with false gaiety.

"You brought me out here for a reason. I presume it is to either try to kill me, or bring me back to Konoha."

"Without back-up, it would be hard," Jiraiya said. "I wouldn't have done so at all, had I not known what you were doing in the outside world, in Magical Britain." He nodded when Orochimaru's eyes widened. "Oh yes, I've known for a while about your expeditions there. I trailed you when you went there the second time, although it was because I had heard about your little spat with Akatsuki. Imagine my surprise when you track down none other than Harry Potter. I had to wonder about that…and then I saw his eyes. Your _Henge_ didn't fool me. The family resemblance is uncanny. So, Harry Potter is your son. And what do you intend to do with him?"

"That's none of your business, Jiraiya."

"Being the one in charge of Konoha's spy network, and you being their top fugitive along with Itachi Uchiha, I daresay that it _is_ my business."

"You always were a voyeur, Jiraiya, looking in on matters that never concerned you," Orochimaru said acidly, while getting into position to fight. He just needed to land enough of a blow to take Jiraiya out of the fight temporarily, long enough for him to take Harry and flee. "Tell me, how many times have you been caught peeping and beaten up by irate women at _onsens_ , hmm?"

Jiraiya smiled grimly as he shifted into position. "It's good practise for espionage, escape, and evasion." His eyes flickered over to the window above them. Orochimaru resisted the urge to do so, lest he take his eyes off Jiraiya. "I never saw you as the paternal type, Orochimaru."

"I am full of surprises," Orochimaru smirked, before biting his thumb, and wiping it across his sealing tattoo. Jiraiya matched him, though he didn't use a tattoo. They summoned their respective summon animals, a massive snake for Orochimaru, and a gigantic toad for Jiraiya.

As their animals fought, Jiraiya surprised Orochimaru by saying, in English, "What do you want with the boy, anyway? I know you're not the paternal type."

"Like I said, it's none of your business!" he spat back in the same language.

The battle went on, with both the _Sannin_ and their summons fighting each other. Eventually, Jiraiya said, again in English, "I think I can hazard a guess. You want to use him for the vile jutsu you were developing, I'll wager. You want to make him a new host body, am I right?"

"So what if I am?" Orochimaru asked. "His chakra levels are prodigious, and married with the magic of his mother…he will be an extremely good vessel."

"What?"

The yelp caught Orochimaru by surprise. He grabbed Jiraiya's fist, and looked to where it was. The window to his room…and Harry had opened it, and was staring at him, his eyes wide and filled with betrayal.

Orochimaru's gaze flickered back over to Jiraiya, who smirked. Orochimaru realised, with a surge of anger, that this was Jiraiya's game in speaking in English. Jiraiya, when he had looked up at the window, must've seen Harry watching, presumably with the window open. And Orochimaru had been goaded into revealing his true purpose for Harry, _in English_.

And he saw in Harry's eyes that there was little way he could fix this, that the only way to get what he wanted was to bring the boy along by force. Because the boy had all too-willingly believed the betrayal, if only because he had been betrayed by his relatives all his life.

Jiraiya acted first, breaking free, and headbutting Orochimaru, before leaping to the window. "Come on!"

"No! I don't want to go with you! I want to go home!"

"Your aunt and uncle and your cousin are dead!" Orochimaru snarled, leaping up to the window, and struggling with Jiraiya in a frankly undignified fashion, trying to grab a hold of Harry. "You have no home left to go to, save with me! Obey your father!"

"You're not my father!" Harry screamed angrily.

"I am, and you will obey me, Mitsuki!"

Harry glared at him, then screamed in anger and fury…only to vanish with a loud 'crack!', mid-scream. Both Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who had been trying to grab the child, tumbled to the ground, caught by their respective summons. They were united, briefly, by a shared sense of bafflement at what just occurred.

Jiraiya summed up the mood in four words. Battle would be joined once more soon enough, but for the moment, their union of bemusement meant that Orochimaru could only agree with what he said.

"Well… _that_ just happened."

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, like Jiraiya said, that just happened. Yes, Harry just Apparated, with accidental magic. But where will he go to? Well, I'm pretty sure you can guess the general location.**

 **I have to confess, one of the inspirations for this story is a relatively short (so far) fic called** ** _The Birth of a Snake_** **by Lucy's Dreamland. It's a crossover of Harry Potter and** ** _Naruto_** **, where Harry is reborn as Orochimaru. I stumbled across it some time ago. It has, as the 'book cover' image, an endearing (yes, endearing!) picture of Orochimaru as a child, presumably with Harry's consciousness within. And I guess that was when I decided I wanted to do a story where Harry was Orochimaru's son.**

 **1\. A joke I took from** ** _The Last Days of FoxHOUND_** **, a really good** ** _Metal Gear Solid_** **webcomic that, despite clashing with what was revealed in** ** _Metal Gear Solid 4_** **onwards, is bloody hilarious. Lots of swearing, though, and the relatively crude art style may take some getting used to. Anyway, the dialogue comes from one strip, where Big Boss, upon seeing the Sorrow again, yells "YOU!" and the Sorrow holds up a placard saying** ** _That is all I get? One pronoun?_** **I've used that joke in another fanfic.**

 **2.** ** _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_** **(the cartoon series rather than the earlier comic books) made its debut in late 1987. I've decided to set this in early 1988. I dunno when TMNT first made it to the UK, so assume that Harry has at least heard of the series. Artistic licence and all that.**

 **3\. Mitsuki is the name of Orochimaru's son in the post-main storyline manga and films of** ** _Naruto_** **. Harry, of course, doesn't resemble the real Mitsuki. Toukou is Japanese for 'Potter', though whether it is an actual surname, I dunno.**


	4. Chapter 3: Dango and Parseltongue

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **DANGO AND PARSELTONGUE**

There were many pariahs in Konoha, though two in particular stood out. Both had undergone godawful experiences entirely out of their control, with great evil being sealed into their very bodies. Both of them were viewed with suspicion and fear, if not outright hatred by the rest of the village.

One was one Naruto Uzumaki, who was (unbeknownst to him and almost everyone in the village) the son of Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, aka the Red-Hot Habanero. A fact more widely known around the village was that he was the _jinchuriki_ (or human container) of the _Kyuubi_ , the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, although it was, technically, forbidden to talk about it publicly. It didn't stop parents from warning their children to stay away and not make friends with the boy, or, on rare but tragic occasion, form drunken mobs to attempt to kill him. Naruto himself was ignorant of his status, though he didn't fail to notice people sometimes calling him a demon.

The other was Anko Mitarashi, recently promoted to special _jounin_ , and second in command of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation division. She was only relatively young, about twenty-one years old(1), but had gone through more than even a ninja her age should. Once a promising genin assigned to be taught by Orochimaru, she was betrayed by him, and abandoned, left with a damning reminder of his betrayal, his Cursed Seal. Now she was viewed with general suspicion, as being potentially Orochimaru's sleeper agent. She was given the unflattering titles of Snake Whore, Snake Slattern, and (her personal favourite, to tell the truth) Snake Bitch.

Anko put on a cheerful façade, albeit one with a very short temper and an unabashedly sadistic air (though the latter was practically a requirement for working in T&I). But the truth was, she was, deep inside, a lonely and bitter young woman who often preferred isolation.

Many a ninja of _jounin_ rank had their little quirks and habits. Kakashi Hatake was, save for true emergencies, invariably late, and often publicly read the _Icha Icha_ books. Might Guy was obsessed with the power of youth and ridiculously strenuous training regimens.

Anko liked to hang out in the Forest of Death. For fun. Although called Training Ground 44, it was rarely used for actual training, except for full survival training. Usually, it was used mostly for the Chunin Exams. But Anko felt at home amongst the dangers here. Which was why she was strolling through the Forest of Death in the evening with a deceptively casual air, chewing merrily on a _dango_ stick.

She had a heart-shaped face, framed by dark, messy purple hair done into a spiky ponytail. She showed off her desirable body by wearing little more than a mesh bodysuit and a tan miniskirt, complemented by a long coat of the same colour, though said coat seemed often barely covering her decency. She was a woman who flaunted her body and her sexuality, deliberately.

Her senses were always on the alert, here especially. There were snakes and leeches and tigers, oh my! All sorts of dangers lurking within the next shadow. So she was instantly whirling to face the source of an almighty _crack!_ she heard near her. It came from behind a tree, she realised. And then, she heard the whimpering and crying. She moved around the tree, to find a boy, maybe five or six, and scrawny, with lank black hair, crying his eyes out.

"Hey…kid, what're you doing here?" she asked.

He started, and then looked up at her. And she felt a chill go down her spine when she saw his ophidian eyes. With that pale skin, that hair, that face, and those eyes…it was like looking at Orochimaru, turned into a kid!

She leapt back with a snarl, and summoned her Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, snakes coming out of the sleeves of her coat. "Okay, brat, you've got ten seconds to start talking!"

The boy began to babble in another language, his eyes wide in fear. He wasn't speaking Japanese, that was for damn sure.

Then, one of the snakes hissed at him. And to Anko's astonishment, he hissed back…in Parseltongue!

" _Don't hurt me, please!_ "

Anko's eyes widened. Although Parseltongue was usually hereditary, it was also a huge advantage for a snake summoner. Most snake summons would speak Japanese as a courtesy, true, but to truly get their respect, it was good to know Parseltongue. Anko was a natural Parselmouth (which may have been a reason she was recruited by Orochimaru and taught how to summon snakes), so she understood him.

" _Brat…did you just speak to me in Parseltongue?_ " she hissed at him.

" _Parseltongue? What is that? Are you with that Orochimaru guy? Or that Jiraiya guy?!_ "

Jiraiya? So he had encountered the infamous pervert of a Toad Sage? And did he just ask whether she was with Orochimaru? " _Brat_ ," she scowled, " _I am not with that bastard. What the hell are you doing here?_ "

" _I don't know! I want to go home! But Orochimaru, he said he was my father, and then he took me away, and then he fought that Jiraiya guy at the inn, and…_ "

Anko frowned as the boy dissolved into yet another round of bawling. Eventually, she said, " _Kid…look at me._ "

He did so. She studied his face. While he did resemble Orochimaru greatly, there were still enough differences. His eyes were green-gold rather than the yellow of the _Sannin_ , his face was softer, and he didn't have epicanthic folds around the eyes, something Anko hadn't really seen before. And she noticed, half hidden by the hair, a jagged scar, almost like a lightning bolt.

She withdrew her snakes, and walked over to the boy. " _Kid…sorry for scaring you like that. It's just that…I have a long history with Orochimaru. He used to be my teacher._ "

He looked up at her, frightened. And Anko's heart softened, despite herself. She drew the kid into a hug. " _I'm sorry, kid_ ," she repeated. " _I'm sorry._ "

" _But…_ " he whimpered, " _where am I?_ "

" _You mean you don't know? Where do you come from, anyway?_ "

" _England_ ," the boy said. " _But Orochimaru said that the inn we were in was in…Tea Country, I think he called it?_ "

Anko frowned again. She had never heard of a country called 'England', but Tea Country wasn't far. Even so… " _How did you get here, anyway?_ "

" _I…I wanted to get away from Orochimaru and Jiraiya, so I…I just_ _ **appeared**_ _here._ "

A _Shunshin_ over such a distance? She had never heard of such a feat. And of course, right into the middle of the Forest of Death. Of course, a _Shunshin_ would never be heralded with such a noise like a loud crack. It was used to move fast and stealthily, hence it being a ninja technique. Making a loud noise defeated the purpose of such a technique.

" _Look, kid…what's your name, anyway?_ "

He blinked at her, before saying, " _Harry Potter…though Orochimaru wanted to call me Mitsuki._ "

The name 'Harry Potter' sounded rather strange. She tried it out normally, outside of Parseltongue, and found it cumbersome. If what this kid was claiming was true, he was most definitely not from around here.

" _Look, kid, I know you'll probably hate me for it, but I'll call you 'Mitsuki' for the time being. I don't like Orochimaru, but your real name is a bit of a mouthful. Anyway, you'd better come with me._ "

" _Why?_ "

" _Kid…you really don't know where you are, do you? It's called the Forest of Death, and with good reason._ " She chortled a bit at the horrified look on his face. " _Besides, you just appeared out of nowhere, in a secure training facility in the middle of our village._ "

" _Your village?_ "

" _Yeah. The Village Hidden in the Leaves, better known as Konoha. Seriously, Mitsuki, haven't you ever heard of Konoha?_ "

" _I…I think I heard that word being used by Jiraiya. What do you mean by training facility?_ "

" _What, haven't you heard of ninja?_ "

The boy's eyes widened. Clearly he had.

" _There you go. And you've appeared in the middle of a place where you're not supposed to. So I've got to take you to my boss. Orochimaru is a wanted criminal in this village. And look, I know you're not a bad kid_ ," (which was a small lie: she didn't sense any deceit, but they had to be sure) " _but we have to make sure, okay? Don't worry. My boss is a scary guy, but he won't hate you. We just want to make sure that you're a good guy, okay?_ " She smiled in what she hoped was a winning fashion, and then proffered a stick of dango. " _You want some?_ "

" _What is it?_ "

"Dango. _It's a sweet. Come on, it's not going to bite._ "

He took the sweet and bit into it tentatively. A small smile came over his face. And Anko was glad. He just hoped that she hadn't let one of Orochimaru's little traps into Konoha…

* * *

The scarred face of Ibiki Morino, her superior in the T&I department, raised an eyebrow (insomuch as a man with no eyebrows could do so, anyway). "So…to sum up, this kid claims to be from another country, the son of Orochimaru, and somehow did a loud _Shunshin_ from Tea Country all the way to the Forest of Death?"

"And he's a Parselmouth. Look, I know it sound weird, which was why I brought him straight here. I don't want to scare him any more than we have to. If what he's said is true, he's been taken from his home, told that the snake bastard is his father, got betrayed by him, and then he somehow transported into the Forest of Death. He got scared of me…and frankly, I got a bit carried away. It was a bit of a shock to see a kid looking so much like Orochimaru."

Morino seemed to consider it. "Okay. I think I have a fairly easy way to check this out. First, I'll have a go at the kid. You act as translator, if he really is a Parselmouth. Then, I'll bring in Inoichi Yamanaka. If we can confirm that the kid isn't a willing tool of Orochimaru, or else is unlikely to be a mole, then he should be okay to live here. But I will have to tell the Hokage."

Anko nodded. And soon, after Ibiki sent word to Inoichi Yamanaka, she was in one of the interrogation rooms with Mitsuki, translating for him. " _Now, Mitsuki, this guy's my boss, Ibiki Morino._ "

" _He looks scary_ ," Mitsuki quavered.

Anko laughed, translating it for Ibiki, who smiled grimly. " _Yeah, he does. But he's in charge of questioning bad guys we catch, and I'm his assistant. Now, I know you're not a bad guy, but Orochimaru most definitely is. And we need to be absolutely sure. I'm sorry if you don't like it._ "

Thus began the interrogation, of sorts. Ibiki asked the questions, and Anko translated them. She relayed the boy's answers. He seemed hesitant to speak about his original guardians, but eventually divulged his treatment at the hands of these…Dursleys, were they called? The surname was unfamiliar to the tongue, as were their names.

Anko scowled, and she noticed Ibiki's eyes hardening as he told his story. Then, of Orochimaru's 'rescue', his brief talk in the inn, the boy being treated with the first kindness in a long time, only to have the cruel illusion stripped away when Orochimaru declared his intention to make him his vessel, tricked by Jiraiya.

Ibiki asked Anko to repeat some other questions, before nodding, satisfied. Then, Inoichi Yamanaka arrived. As Ibiki briefed the Yamanaka, Anko turned to Mitsuki, and said, " _Now, this guy is called Inoichi Yamanaka. He used to work here, and on occasion, we get him to help with some cases. He has a technique that allows him to enter the mind of another person, look at their memories. I know it's a personal thing to ask, but if he finds nothing in there that's a problem, then you'll be okay to stay in Konoha._ " She frowned when she heard something from Yamanaka, before turning to back to Mitsuki. " _Oh, and he thinks he might be able to put in some understanding of our language while he's in there. That sound good to you?_ "

Mitsuki pursed his lips, before saying, " _I'll do it. I don't want to be like Orochimaru._ "

* * *

Inoichi Yamanaka was prepared for anything he could conceive of when he dove into the boy's mind. But to find an unusual-looking house was not quite what he expected.

He found the boy crying in a cupboard underneath some stairs, a cupboard with a mattress put into it, and a few knick-knacks. He realised, with horror, that this was where the boy slept.

He got the boy's attention, and then handed him a sphere of scintillating blue light, and gestured for him to eat it. The boy did so, and blinked. "Can you understand me?" Inoichi asked.

"Yes…I can…"

Inoichi looked at the cupboard, the boy's bedroom, in horror and disgust. "Who could do this to you?"

" _They_ could." And then, Inoichi saw a series of memories of the boy's relatives, of an equine woman with a shrill voice that made the Harunos look tame, a bloated walrus who attacked the boy on the slightest provocation, and a pig of a child who was a bully and a glutton.

They were not constructs, or if they were, they were really good ones. He noted, however, that many of the violent incidents seemed to revolve around whenever the boy in front of him (he couldn't decide whether to call him Harry, or Mitsuki, as Harry was the name he answered to in these memories) said something about magic. It was as if his relatives had the psychological equivalent of an allergic reaction to the word. He could understand the boy's own language while in his mind, anyway.

He viewed the memories of Orochimaru arriving, of the discussion in the inn, of the fight between Orochimaru and Jiraiya, and of the Toad Sage tricking Orochimaru to admit his plans for the boy in the language the boy was used to. He also learned where the boy came from. He had heard tales about the world outside.

Then, he came to one of the earliest memories of the boy. Of a man killing the boy's mother (with that red hair, she looked a little like Kushina Uzumaki), a man with a serpentine face. A face that made Orochimaru look desirable by comparison. He aimed his wand at the boy, said some words, began to laugh, and then screamed two words in a weird language. " _AVADA KEDAVRA!_ " A strobe of green light.

* * *

Inoichi finished off his mental excursion, panting slightly, due to what he had witnessed. "Well, as far as I can tell, he's on the level. He's telling the truth, unless Orochimaru's screwed around with his head so much, even I can't tell whether he's a mole. He comes from the outside world, from a country called the United Kingdom, or England, or Britain. And it seems his mother and would-be killer were mages rather than shinobi. On another note, he's understandably frightened and confused. He's been uprooted from his life, albeit one where he's been looked upon as a freak. It's what his relatives called him." He looked at the snake-eyed child with pity.

A silence fell over them. Eventually, Anko said, "I'll take him home. At least until we can get something else sorted. I'll take him to see the Hokage in the morning." She looked at Mitsuki. "Well, Mitsuki? Ready to crash at my place?"

The boy nodded, rather timidly. All three adults present had known Orochimaru, and to see someone who looked so much like him act so… _timidly_ , it was astonishing.

Of course, there were many in this village who wouldn't see it this way. They didn't treat Anko well just for being Orochimaru's apprentice, and of course, there was what happened to Naruto. What would happen to Mitsuki if the villagers learned that the son of Orochimaru walked amongst them?

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And another chapter down! We have Naruto and Anko meeting for the first time, and yes, she is going to be his mother figure. A partial inspiration for that is one of sakurademonalchemist's stories,** ** _Okami Mitarashi_** **, where Harry is adopted by Anko. I also like a number of fics where Anko adopts Naruto, including** ** _The Story of Mitarashi Naruto_** **, and** ** _The Fox and the Flower_** **.**

 **I have to be honest: out of what little I have actually read of the** ** _Naruto_** **manga, my two favourite characters are two of the** ** _jounin_** **: Kakashi, and Anko.**

 **Wow, only two chapters and less than 24 hours, and already I have over a thousand views! Yikes.**

 **Review-answering time! Firstly,** **Kit** **writes as a guest, and mentions my fight scene being vague. I'm afraid I'm pretty shit at writing fight scenes, so I sort of glossed over it. And yet, I'm writing a Naruto fanfic. Can you say 'literary suicide'?**

 **Secondly,** **Mangahero18** **, a long term reader of my works, has written in with enthusiasm. And yes, I am aware of what Mitsuki says (and I do agree: it would be more entertaining, even if it does give somewhat nightmarish thoughts). However, this probably won't be a work where Orochimaru redeems himself. As for Harry staying with Orochimaru for longer, well, unfortunately, I wanted to bring Harry to Konoha ASAP, and decided that accidental magic in the form of Apparition would be a decent enough plot device to bring him from Tea Country to Konoha. Yeah, it's a bit of an asspull, but what're you going to do about it, eh?**

 **By the way, my name is spelled 'Quatermass', not 'Quartermass'. If you're wondering what the hell that means, look up 'Professor Bernard Quatermass' on Wikipedia.**

 **1\. I wasn't certain about how old Anko was, but to give her time to have been a** ** _genin_** **under Orochimaru, and then be discarded by him, I made her twenty-one here (and twenty-six by the time of** ** _Naruto_** **canon, assuming the** ** _genin_** **to be twelve).**


	5. Chapter 4: Second Chances

**CHAPTER 4:**

 **SECOND CHANCES**

The Hokage was an old man, and he had seen many things in his lifetime. Few things, though, would have surprised him as much as Ibiki's revelation that Orochimaru had sired a son…and had apparently done so with a foreign witch.

He was well aware of the world outside, as well as their hidden subculture of magic users. So he was well aware of who Harry Potter was, especially thanks to Jiraiya's reports. And he had received a message couriered to him by a Toad Summon about Orochimaru and the boy accompanying him. So the surprise was mitigated, though to learn that he had ended up in Konoha…

"So…his story does match up with what you know, Hokage-sama?" Ibiki asked.

"Indeed. I know of the one he was supposed to have vanquished, Lord Voldemort. Though his trappings are superficially those of Orochimaru's, he tends to appeal to xenophobia. Orochimaru appeals purely to lust for power, if what Jiraiya has told me is correct. In any case, it is more likely that his parents had a hand in saving his life and vanquishing Voldemort, though there is no known protection against the mages' Killing Curse, save for a physical barrier, or evasion. Few mages outside of Japan know of us, which is perhaps just as well. We have enough problems of our own without them interfering." The Hokage sighed, looking at some of his paperwork. "Harry Potter is easily one of the most famous people in the Magical World. His disappearance will be noticed, especially once he turns eleven. That is the age wizards and witches start to attend magic school in Britain," he clarified.

"So, what do we do about him?"

"If we can find someone willing to adopt him, we will do so. Do you think Anko might?"

"Maybe. She got scary with the kid when he first appeared, given how he looked like a mini-Orochimaru, but she's become protective of him. I guess it's because they both got screwed over by that snake bastard. By the way, how did he manage to get into the Forest of Death?"

"That's easy enough to explain. I heard that the mages can perform feats of teleportation, albeit with difficulty. But it's not uncommon for children to have feats of accidental magic under stress, apparently. He may have just wanted to escape from Orochimaru and Jiraiya, and ended up here purely by accident. It's probably just as well Orochimaru didn't get a chance to poison his mind against Konoha, given what you said in your report." The Hokage gave a rather rueful smile. "Perhaps this is fate."

"Fate, sir?"

"I messed up badly with Orochimaru. He is perhaps the worst of my failures. Perhaps fate has given me a chance to steer his son clear of a dark path," the Hokage mused. "Anyway, for the time being, I'll assign a member of ANBU to be a discreet bodyguard. Anko may be capable of looking after Harry Potter, but I'd feel better if I knew for certain. Ibiki…how well do you think it will work out if I made discussing Harry's parentage an S-Rank secret?"

"I have two words, Hokage-sama: Naruto. _Kyuubi_. You certainly can't keep his parentage a secret with those eyes. I'd say, disseminate the news discreetly, but make it absolutely clear that the boy has passed through a rigorous T &I debriefing, and poses no known danger to Konoha. Tell them the truth, or at least some of it: that the boy was unaware that Orochimaru was his father until now, and that he thought his real parents had died in an accident. I'm sure you know that our biggest worry isn't if a mob tries to attack him, even though that's a real concern. No, the biggest worry is Danzo."

The Hokage nodded. He knew Ibiki was right. He had a sneaking suspicion that Danzo Shimura had not disbanded the ROOT organisation on his orders, but had merely taken it underground, possibly quite literally. And he had a predilection for taking orphans and moulding them into what he believed to be the ideal ninja: completely emotionless. It was true that a ninja should not show their emotions, but there was a difference between not showing emotions, and actually being emotionless.

"I'll deal with Danzo," the Hokage said. "The biggest question is what will happen with Harry's education. If he joins the academy, well, there's already a stink with Naruto joining. In any case, I will see the boy myself tomorrow morning." He sighed. "One thing's for sure: I am going to be _buried_ under paperwork for this…"

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, did sometimes use Shadow Clones to do the paperwork. But he used such a technique sparingly for a couple of reasons. Firstly, Shadow Clones kept the personalities of the originals, so if the Hokage hated doing the paperwork, so too would his clones. Secondly, when dispersed, the Shadow Clones returned memories to their creator. One of the reasons the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ was a forbidden art was that too many memories returning all at once could overload the brain. And considering that doing the paperwork was tedious, there was a good chance that if he used too many Shadow Clones to do the paperwork and then dispersed them, he would die of an acute overdose of pure boredom(1).

Unfortunately, interesting events like Naruto's pranks tended to create such piles of paperwork. And he knew that Orochimaru's child would bring with him even more paperwork.

Early the next morning, Anko and Inu, the ANBU member he had assigned to watch over them, brought Harry in. The Hokage studied the boy in front of him. It was so eerily like what Orochimaru looked like all those years ago, as a child. But there were differences: he looked more European (that was the part of the outside Britain belonged to, wasn't it?), his eyes had more green to them, and there was a timidity there that Orochimaru never quite had, not like this.

The Hokage had many faces. For now, he settled his face into the 'Kindly Grandfather' expression. He had a toddler grandson, so he had the practise. "Good morning, Harry Potter. Or would you prefer Mitsuki?"

"I…You can call me whichever name you want, sir," the boy said.

The Hokage nodded. "Then I shall call you Harry. I'm a little more used to the languages of the outside world than many others here, so your name is not so strange. I am Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha. In effect, it means that I am both the mayor of this village, as well as the leader of its military forces. I am also, much to my shame and regret, the teacher of your biological father, Orochimaru."

The boy looked down at that. "I'm sorry to hear that, sir."

"There is no need to be. Much of the fault is my own for not seeing his evil and nipping it in the bud. And I am not one to hold the sins of the father against his son, not if he hasn't participated in them, and given the report I got from T&I, you are in the clear."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said, sincerely. The poor boy…the Hokage had read the report, as well as listened to Ibiki's assessment, and shuddered. No child should have to go through what he did, and he hoped that he wasn't failing Naruto in a similar fashion.

Then again, Naruto had become fiercely independent. And few people wanted to adopt him anyway. Even those who could tell the difference between a _jinchuriki_ and a Tailed Beast were wary. And if the Hokage adopted him, there'd be a shitstorm to say the least.

"Now, Harry, there's a few things we need to clear up before long. The first is your placement. Where you will live, and with whom."

To his relief, Anko cleared her throat. "Actually, Hokage-sama, I'm strongly considering taking him in."

The Hokage nodded. He had hoped as such. For all her quirks and tendencies, Anko was a decent person and a loyal shinobi of Konoha. She was also the best person to counsel Harry, given that she too had been screwed over by Orochimaru. "Very well. I'll send you the relevant paperwork. Another thing that we need to clear up is your education." He steepled his fingers. "We have two separate schools. The first is for civilians, and the second is a ninja academy. While you do not need to decide immediately, I will say that there is a good reason for you to attend ninja academy. I am told that Orochimaru has informed you of your status as the Boy Who Lived?"

Harry nodded.

"Good. The sad truth is, being the vanquisher of Voldemort…that's the name of the man who killed your parents," he said, seeing the confusion on his face, "being the vanquisher of Voldemort automatically makes you any number of enemies, enemies who may yet be determined to track you down. Being the son of Orochimaru increases the enemies you face. I will not lie to you, Harry: there will be attempts on your life. Orochimaru himself may even decide to retrieve you. We may not be able to teach you much about your magic…but we can teach you how to fight, how to defend yourself. We train our children to become shinobi. I know that you come from a different culture, and that you may not necessarily want to walk down that path, but…"

"No…I don't," Harry interrupted quietly. "But…if I do have these people after me, I don't have much of a choice. I don't want people to be hurt because I can't help myself."

A good answer. One should seek power to protect one's self and others, not for the sake of power or domination. The Hokage nodded. "Then…you will join the academy?"

"That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"What I want is for you to have a chance at happiness, Harry. It sounds like you've had precious few of those." The Hokage smiled warmly at the child. "To grow strong to protect yourself and others is an admirable goal. To be Hokage, one has to be willing to be the guardian for all the people in Konoha, even if it means the sacrifice of one's life. That is how my predecessor died. I am the Third Hokage, but for a time, I retired, and passed the reins to another, Minato Namikaze. Sadly, his reign didn't last for long, for he died stopping the rampage of the _Kyuubi no Youko_ , the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. I sometimes wonder if he did it to leave me with the paperwork out of spite," he joked.

Harry didn't get the joke. Or perhaps his anecdote about the Fourth Hokage was a touch too morbid for the young boy to appreciate the humour. The Hokage said, with a gentle sigh, "Harry…I know that in your short life, you have suffered much, far more than you should have. Many people have wanted you to die. What I ask of you may sound crueller, but death is forever. I ask that you live, that you find ways to enjoy your life. You are still young, and have many years ahead, I hope. I can't guarantee that people won't treat you like your relatives or Orochimaru did. What I can guarantee is that neither myself nor Anko will do the same. If you should share anything with Orochimaru other than his looks, then let it be his positive qualities: his intelligence, his desire to better himself, and a drive to succeed. Ambition is not evil. It is the means and desires paired with it that can be."

Harry nodded solemnly. "Hey, Mitsuki," Anko said, nudging the kid. "Don't be like that. The Hokage's a really nice guy. It takes a lot to get on his bad side, unless you're a traitor. He's just trying to reassure you. Think of him as the grandpa to the people of Konoha…only he can kick a lot of ass."

Despite himself, Harry chuckled. So too did the Hokage. "You certainly have a way with words, Anko," the Hokage said. "Have you shown him much in the way of jutsus?"

"No. I did scare him with my Hidden Shadow Snake Hands," Anko admitted, "and given what he said about Orochimaru's confrontation with Jiraiya, he's seen summon jutsus. Why?"

The Hokage had a small smile on his face. Maybe showing the boy some of the other powers of a shinobi might impress him. "Well, Harry, would you like to see an interesting one?"

The boy's eyes widened, and he nodded.

" _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_ " the Hokage called out, making the handsigns as he did so. In a puff of chakra-laden smoke, two more Hokages appeared.

The look on Harry's face was hilarious. "There's more of you!" he yelped.

"Indeed. This is a high-level _Bunshin_ or Clone technique. The standard _Bunshin_ they teach at the academy is merely an insubstantial image, but higher level ones can act independently, and act as allies in combat. The _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ , or Shadow Clone Technique creates solid, independent copies, albeit ones that dispel from either a hard enough blow, or else when the creator wills it. I sometimes use them to help speed up dealing with paperwork. Of course, it requires more chakra than most ninja are used to: generally, only _jounin_ or expert ninja are allowed to learn it. And while it allows the memory of the dispelled clone to transfer to you, that in itself can be dangerous, distracting you or overloading the brain."

Harry walked over to one of the clones, and gently prodded it. "It feels real," he murmured in awe, his gold-green eyes wide with wonder.

"Of course he does," the Hokage chuckled. He then changed his clones into _Henges_ of his predecessors. "And I can disguise them as my forerunners in this job, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju. Tobirama Senju was my own teacher, and was the creator of the Shadow Clone Technique."

"Wow…" Harry said, his eyes even wider. "But…will me being a wizard affect me being a ninja?"

"Not as far as I know. If anything, it would make your versatility even better. A versatile shinobi is an excellent shinobi."

The Hokage could see within Harry's face awe and wonder. A caged bird with clipped wings…and one that had been intimidated into not even spreading them. But you could see now a sense that Harry, to extend that metaphor, was seeing the possibilities of eventually flying, of soaring through the skies.

Still, it would still be a life filled with darkness for the boy. The Hokage hoped that it would still be a good one, all the same…

 **CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And another chapter down, with the Hokage being nice to Harry.**

 **Now, in case you're wondering why I am using Harry and Mitsuki interchangeably, keep in mind that the Hokage can pronounce the name more or less correctly. I intend to use 'Harry' and 'Mitsuki' interchangeably. 'Mitsuki Mitarashi' (as he will come to be known) will be his official name within Konoha. 'Harry Potter', however, will be how he thinks of himself in private, and be called by a few people.**

 **By the way, after I post this, I'm taking a brief break from writing my fanfics (unless my muse really bugs me). I've burnt myself out on so many things, and I need a breather.**

 **That being said, I still have some plans for the future of this fanfic. I've even got a pairing thought of, which took some thought, as I don't know at what point in the story Harry will go to Hogwarts, if at any point. But this is one that I have decided on.**

 **Holy crap, over 2K views!**

 **Review-answering time.** **Mangahero18** **writes again. In response, I don't know what mistakes you're referring to. As to my choice of words regarding the Harunos, I will hasten to add that this is more of a comment on the family in general. My pure** ** _Naruto_** **fanfic,** ** _Observations of a Wannabe Kunoichi_** **, goes out of its way to empower Sakura, and in fact, I doubt I will do much, if at all, bashing of Sakura. Her main problem, along with her family, is that they're shrill and loud, not evil bastards who go out of their way to hurt Naruto. Compared to Petunia Dursley, they're nothing.**

 **Jostanos** **: Yes. And yes.**

 **1\. This is my big 'fuck you' to the fanon assertion that the Third Hokage's paperwork problems would be solved if he remembered to use the** ** _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_** **. I think my reasoning is a pretty good one as to why he doesn't use it, or at least not often, and as far as I know, nobody else has used it. I mean, dying of concentrated boredom would be a pretty crappy way to go. Actually, funnily enough, in James Goss' recent novelisation of the** ** _Doctor Who_** **story** ** _City of Death_** **, Professor Kerensky, trapped in a time bubble, is said to die of boredom.**


	6. Chapter 5: Peer Review

**CHAPTER 5:**

 **PEER REVIEW**

Harry (he would probably think of himself as Harry rather than Mitsuki for some time yet) looked around at the streets of Konoha in interest. That being said, he couldn't fail to notice the glares being shot in his direction. Most seemed to be at Anko rather than him, he noticed, which was still disconcerting. Then again, she had told him that Orochimaru was her teacher, and that he was a criminal here.

Anko Mitarashi was weird. True, she was nice, and those _dango_ she ate were strange, albeit tasty. But she also happily admitted she enjoyed torturing people (he could only hope that they were bad guys), and she dressed in a way that he knew would have Aunt Petunia calling her a 'loose woman', whatever that meant. She also swore frequently.

It was the day after his meeting with the Hokage, and he had received a crash course in the history and geography of the Elemental Countries, as well as what ninja were and what they did. The Hokage had helped with paperwork giving Harry a late admission into the academy(1), under the name of Mitsuki Mitarashi. His cover story was virtually the same as his life: he was an orphan, housed by relatives until said relatives were murdered. He had ended up in Konoha, and was now under the care of Anko. Orochimaru was not to be mentioned as being his father: the kids, for the most part, may not know about him (save for the name, anyway), but if their parents learned…

The Hokage had also notified the teachers of the class, Iruka and Mizuki, of the truth, and warned that they needed to look past this. They were also warned not to reveal who Harry's father was to the children or their parents: the latter would be notified, true, but on the Hokage's terms. They were told that Harry had passed a full T&I exam.

Iruka was worried, but decided to judge the boy on his own merits. Mizuki had his own thoughts on the matter. Calculating thoughts which he kept to himself.

Harry walked into the classroom (having been dropped off by Anko), in time to hear Iruka say, "…and for the first announcement, we have a latecomer to our classes. His name is Mitsuki Mitarashi." Iruka saw him come in, and smiled. "Ah, Mitsuki. Just in time. Come in and introduce yourself."

Mitsuki walked over to Iruka, and faced the class, who were all staring at him. He bowed, gently, as he was told to by Anko. "Hello. I am Mitsuki Mitarashi."

A boy with messy black hair and red marks on his cheeks (that vaguely reminded him of Jiraiya) rudely demanded, "What's up with your eyes?"

"Moron," said a pink-haired girl. "He's probably got some _doujutsu_. Like Hinata has, or like Sasuke will have."

Thankfully, Harry had been briefed on _doujutsu_ by Anko last night, hereditary eye-based techniques. They could use that as a cover story. Thank God the pink-haired girl had mentioned it. "It _is_ a minor _doujutsu_. It allows me to see better in the dark." Which wasn't a lie: it had helped him see many times without light in the cupboard he had slept in. And he had never needed glasses. In fact, he could see clearly extremely far…so he could see his cousin approaching for another round of 'Harry-hunting'.

Harry could see that they had bought it. Or at least they seemed to. He didn't like the way one dark-haired kid with a lazy air and a spiky ponytail that put Harry in mind of a pineapple was looking at him. He didn't know the word calculating when it applied to looks, but he knew it when he saw it.

"That's so cool!" cheered a blonde-haired kid with blue eyes, and marks on his cheeks that looked like whiskers. "I wish I had eyes like yours, _dattebayo!_ "

"Ummm…thanks?" Harry said, uncertainly. The enthusiasm and compliment seemed sincere enough, he just wasn't used to getting that.

"Well, take a seat," Iruka said. "We'll start class after a few more announcements."

As Harry did so, he looked at the various class members. Anko had given him a crash course (one of many) in the various ninja clans of Konoha, and who and what to look out for. She had told him that Inoichi, the man who interrogated him, had a daughter in this class, Ino. He recognised her quickly: she was one of the few people here with blonde hair, along with the boy who had envied his eyes.

He also recognised a girl who had to be a Hyuuga: Anko had told him to look for the distinctive pearl-coloured eyes with no pupil and dark hair. She seemed quite shy. He knew how she felt, in the shyness stakes at least. The boy who had demanded to know about his eyes was probably an Inuzaka, though he didn't have a dog yet(2). A rotund boy with light brown hair and looking like a far more nice Dudley was probably an Akimichi. The dark-haired, sullen boy peering at him with mild curiosity mixed with disdain was probably Sasuke Uchiha, the last survivor of his clan.

He eventually sat next to a dark-haired boy who wore what seemed to be sunglasses, as well as a high-collared coat. The boy gave him an appraising look, but otherwise said nothing.

* * *

Of those students in the classroom, only one knew of Mitsuki Mitarashi's origins. Ino Yamanaka had been told by her father (he had been granted leave by the Hokage) of Mitsuki and his past. She was somewhat ambivalent. On the one hand, this was the son of Orochimaru. While most in the classroom had heard of the legends of the three _Sannin_ , not as many knew of Orochimaru specifically, or his crimes. Ino did, and she shuddered at the thought of him having offspring.

But on the other hand, the boy, from what her father had said, had had a tough life (so much so that Ino was warned against trying any mental jutsu against him, and she had gotten a similar warning regarding Naruto). And he hadn't even learned that he was the child of Orochimaru until very recently. And when you looked at him, you just saw a lost little kid with snake-like eyes, and a scar on his forehead. You wanted to give the poor kid a hug, not treat him like evil incarnate.

And not only that, but he was apparently a mage from the world outside the Elemental Countries. Apparently one who was famous amongst mages for vanquishing (by accident, apparently) some Orochimaru wannabe.

It would be interesting to see how he ended up, Ino thought.

* * *

Harry got along well with the boy he sat next to, who turned out to be an Aburame, one of a clan of bug users who turned their bodies into living hives for said bugs. Most of them were special chakra-eating bugs.

Harry was a bit disturbed by the concept, but he couldn't exactly throw stones. His eyes were those of a snake, and Anko could summon snakes, just like Orochimaru. And Shino, as the boy named himself, was nice, if somewhat quiet. Harry, his curiosity piqued, actually asked questions of Shino about the Aburame's insects during the lunch break, and the boy answered.

He began to get names for his classmates. He had actually guessed correctly about the clans, and had identified Sasuke Uchiha. The lazy boy whose look he didn't like turned out to be Shikamaru Nara, though he turned out to be decent enough, if lazy. He seemed to suspect something, but wasn't actually giving Harry a nasty look. The Hyuuga girl was called Hinata, and Harry actually got to talking to the girl about life in the Hyuuga clan. Though shy, she was nice, and didn't seem to be afraid of his eyes.

The Akimichi's name was Chouji. The Inuzaka's name was Kiba. The pink-haired girl (who wasn't of a ninja clan) was Sakura Haruno. And the blonde-haired loudmouth was Naruto Uzumaki, class troublemaker. The boy seemed overly eager to make his acquaintance. At first, Harry was wary, until he saw the loneliness in the boy's eyes.

Anko had told Harry about Naruto. " _He's a troublemaker_ ," she had said, " _albeit an entertaining one. But there's a lot of folks here who don't like him. I can't tell you why, only that it's an S-Ranked secret. That means that, if you're dumb enough to discuss it out loud, you get executed. If you want to be friends with him, that's fine with me. Just try not to let the brat get you into trouble._ "

 _He's like me_ , he realised. _Everyone tells everyone else to avoid him. Just like the Dursleys did to me_.

Of course, he did sort of regret it when they discussed favourite foods, and when Naruto revealed that his was ramen, Harry mentioned that he didn't know what it was. Harry would peg the resulting rant down as an experience he would avoid having above all others…until years later, when he first encountered the Sunset of Youth _genjutsu_ of Might Guy.

The boy had a decent heart, he was just loud and obnoxious, habitually wearing an orange jumpsuit that basically screamed "LOOK AT ME! I'M A TARGET!" Already, Harry knew enough about ninja that such clothing would be bad news for a mission. Even garish hair (like, for example, Sakura's(3)) could be dyed or covered up or changed through a transformation.

Still, Harry felt a certain kinship with the boy. He didn't know it, but James Potter and his friend had a predilection for pranks, a predilection that Lily, his birth mother, did share. She had become, unofficially, a fifth Marauder, and despite her increasing friendship with James Potter being induced by secret doses of Amortentia, she enjoyed pranking anyway.

So the seeds of at least one friendship had been sown, at the very least. Perhaps a few. Harry had gotten along with not only Naruto, but Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga.

* * *

Danzo Shimura was not a pleasant man. In fact, the best thing that you could say about his views was that he was dedicated to protecting Konoha at all costs, though there were times all too frequently where he confused Konoha's best interests with his own. He was an unpleasant man who believed that shinobi should be utterly without emotion, tools rather than people, he believed that Sarutobi was too soft as Hokage (ditto Minato Namikaze, despite the Fourth Hokage being a feared warrior), and he believed that he would make a better leader. Not to mention he had no qualms about stealing _Sharingan_ -awoken eyes and implanting them into himself, along with various other forbidden enhancements he kept concealed under bandages and a pretence of being crippled.

But he wasn't stupid, either. He was canny in the field of political manoeuvring, he tried not to waste talent and potential if he could help it, and he also knew when to fold his hand. Which was why he was considering, very carefully, what to do about Mitsuki Mitarashi, aka Harry Potter.

Danzo was one of the few people in Konoha to be aware of both the world outside, and the mage subculture, as well as the recent civil war in Magical Britain. So he was well aware of who Harry Potter was, though learning that the Boy Who Lived was the biological son of Orochimaru was definitely a rare shock.

Of course, abducting the boy and bringing him into ROOT would in all likelihood backfire badly. His disappearance would be noted, especially as Anko Mitarashi had all but adopted him. And if the boy was a mage, then it would be possible that his magic would fluctuate with his emotions, and while he could fix that, the truth was, the boy could end up bringing down the ceiling of ROOT in a magical outburst. And Danzo would prefer _not_ to have to deal with a magic-enhanced conniption, thank you very much.

As much as it irked him, he was going to take a wait and see approach. He had eyes and ears throughout Konoha, and knew how to whisper into the right ears. If necessary, he could poison the minds of those in Konoha to drive the boy into his custody. But then again, if the boy was completely loyal to Konoha, like the _jinchuriki_ Naruto, then he may not need to. He would just need to make sure that the boy was in a position to be controlled by him, or at least not be a threat to him.

So Danzo began to make plans for every contingency. A mage, and the son of Orochimaru: he'd be a fool not to exploit a chance like this…

 **CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry's met Naruto and his peers, and Danzo's plotting.**

 **Now, in case you're wondering, the pairing I have in mind for Harry (he's too young for a proper pairing yet, he's not even eight yet) is not with a Naruto character, but with a Harry Potter character. It will be some time before I bring her (I'm not into slash, so I'll leave it for those who are) into the story, though it will be before I go through the stations of canon.**

 **Next chapter: the reactions of Magical Britain to Harry Potter's disappearance!**

 **Incidentally, while writing this chapter (and others), I have been listening to this really brilliant remix of** ** _Dancing Mad_** **from** ** _Final Fantasy VI_** **. It's done by someone with the YouTube account of 'theyears12', so go look it up. I'd post the URL, but this site is stroppy when it comes to those…**

 **5K views! Woohoo! And all within a week of publication!**

 **Review-answering time: I have already answered** **Morgan d'Arc** **in correspondence, but I will answer their review here. I only know of two stories offhand where Orochimaru is Harry's father, and one where he is his grandfather, so I wouldn't call it overused. Thanks for the praise anyway. I'm making Harry timid and introverted, true, but he will grow stronger, have no doubt about that.**

 **mattcun** **: While your enjoyment is noted and appreciated, continually writing 'Plz write more' as a review is not going to get me to write more. I write on my own terms, not yours. Case in point being my answer to…**

 **EllieGmanlovesHalo** **: No, it shouldn't be. I write my story, the way** ** _I_** **want to. No female versions of Naruto and Sasuke. There are plenty of fics in the sea…I mean, on this site with that sort of thing. But this is my fic. My story. Thus, my rules. I rarely take suggestions, and if people get persistent with them, I get annoyed. To put it mildly. If I have made a mistake, please point it out politely. But please do not tell me how to write, or, more to the point,** ** _what_** **to write. Also, the past tense of 'breed' is 'bred'. 'Breeded' is not really used, and sounds weird, anyway.**

 **Jostanos** **: See the above chapter. Also, I don't think so, but Anko will allow Naruto to come over whenever he likes.**

 **KingHoborg** **: Well, just for that, you can go and sit in the corner. No fanfic, ice cream, or soup for you! BTW, do you happen to be one of the Gods of Ragnarok? (If you don't get that reference, watch or look up** ** _Doctor Who: The Greatest Show in the Galaxy_** **. "WE WANT MORE!" "WE** ** _NEED_** **MORE!")**

 **Guest** **: I know, right? Ron-bashing has been done so many times, it ain't funny. Of course, so too has Dumbledore-bashing, but it is a requirement of this particular story.**

 **1\. I dunno what year they begin the academy, but I'm assuming, even if it is the first year, Harry's got a few months of catching up to do at least.**

 **2\. I honestly have no idea what age Kiba is at when he gets Akamaru, but given that Akamaru seems to be a puppy in the first half of** ** _Naruto_** **, I'm guessing he gets it later than these events.**

 **3\. A mild 'fuck you' to some of the bollocks people have against Sakura in other fics, especially her hair. Sakura won't be bashed, or at least not much, in this fic.**


	7. Chapter 6: Plight of the Bumblebee

**CHAPTER 6:**

 **PLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE**

Meanwhile, back in Britain, Professor Albus Dumbledore, He Of Too Many Goddamn Titles, was in something of a crisis. Harry Potter was missing. So too was his family. And the bloodstains within 4 Privet Drive told a chilling tale of the fate of the Dursleys, at least.

Harry was still alive, according to his sensors, which was something: while if Harry died, it meant Voldemort was down one Horcrux, it also meant that he didn't have his figurehead/pawn/scapegoat, as well as his means to control the Potter fortune. If he lost Harry to death too soon, he might get the money, but he would get the blame as well. The Order would be disillusioned with him, and where would that get him?

From what he gathered after the police had left and he managed to do his own, personal investigation, the Dursleys had been killed by some sort of animal, and given the bloody track marks, it seemed to be some sort of snake. A massive one. Certainly not a natural one. But there were few traces of magic here, and all of them seemed to be related to Harry.

For a time, he wondered whether Harry had become an Animagus through accidental magic, transformed into some kind of giant snake, and attacked his relatives. It was possible. There was something definitely tainted and evil about the boy (so Dumbledore thought), and those snake-like eyes, so much like Tom's had been before he was vanquished, could have foreshadowed such an Animagus form. But Dumbledore didn't want to do anything by halves, and continued to investigate, just in case his supposition was wrong.

It wasn't until he got to the backyard that he got his first real clue as to what happened. He found a signature of something that wasn't quite magic, but something not dissimilar. He realised, with a start, that it was chakra. The hallmark of a shinobi from the Elemental Countries.

Now things were beginning to fall into place. He remembered what James Potter had told him when they had recaptured Lily nearly eight years ago. About how they had found her in a hotel room, in bed, with another man, a man who, upon questioning Lily with Veritaserum, turned out to be a shinobi from the Elemental Countries. A shinobi by the name of Orochimaru. The man had been blasted out of the hotel window by a Banishing spell cast by a furious James Potter, and they had found his body sprawled on the ground below, albeit with a strange, slimy trail emanating from the mouth. For the time being, Dumbledore had assumed the man to be dead. Harry's eyes were chalked up to the boy being the bastard son of the shinobi, as James remembered the golden, snake-like eyes of the man who was in bed with his wife.

It seemed now that this wasn't the case. Orochimaru may have survived, and have reclaimed his son. Dumbledore knew a little about the Elemental Countries (barbaric, warlike though they were), and knew a little of the _Sannin_. Orochimaru had a reputation that mirrored that of Voldemort, and was similarly obsessed with snakes and immortality, supposedly.

If Orochimaru had taken Harry away, then it meant that his tool, his figurehead, was out of his reach. Not completely, he hoped, as there were ways and means to the Elemental Countries, but it would be all the more difficult.

The best-laid plans, Dumbledore reflected, often go wrong. He had persuaded James Potter to leave the Potter estate to him (after Lily and Harry died: James could never quite bring himself to disinherit the snake-eyed boy, at least not until he had gotten Lily to have another child, because he had tried so hard to get a child in the first place), and while he hadn't meant Snape to overhear the prophecy, it was nonetheless a situation he could turn to his advantage.

Dumbledore might make pleas for the Greater Good, but to tell the truth, he was a man who was ruthless about getting and keeping power. Fiscal power, power through influence, it didn't matter. He didn't want to be Minister of Magic because of a number of reasons: his preferred to wield power from behind the scenes (the Minister was little more than a figurehead at times, after all, but a very public one, something he didn't want as much), he already had the positions of Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, and he preferred to influence things from the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. After seeing Tom Riddle turn into Voldemort, that was when he committed himself wholeheartedly to his path, to bring Magical Britain under his control, albeit in an unseen way.

Of course, he was getting old, and he needed a successor. But who could he trust to be one? Not his imbecile of a goat-lover brother. McGonagall, for all her loyalty to Dumbledore, had too many scruples, as did Sprout and Flitwick. Snape could manage the subtlety if he needed to, but he was also too acerbic, not level-headed enough. Not to mention he was still branded like cattle by Voldemort. He couldn't think of any other teachers who'd be suitable. If it weren't for the Horcrux and ophidian eyes, he might have chosen to groom Harry for the role, but he couldn't risk that.

Perhaps Neville Longbottom, the other boy who fit the Prophecy, might make a suitable candidate: by all accounts, he was a near-Squib, treated with disdain by most of his family. Should he come to Hogwarts, he might be pliable enough to become Dumbledore's successor. Or perhaps young Percy Weasley: he was in his first year, and he had a strong sense of the rules, and was conservative by the standards of his family.

He'd start the process of grooming a successor in Percy this year, and see if it worked. Or maybe he should try to get a hold of the last Deathly Hallow, the Resurrection Stone, and hope that the myths of being the immortal Master of Death were more than myths. But he had a more immediate concern: Harry Potter.

He had called a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix, or at least those members who had survived the previous war, and was doing so at Snape's filthy house in Spinner's End. The Weasleys, Fletcher, that incompetent Squib Figg, Moody, Snape, and Lupin were there. He didn't like the look that Lupin was giving him. Of all the fools he had here, he probably had the most personal stake in ensuring Harry's safety, very much a double-edged sword.

Of course, only the Weasleys were here out of blind loyalty, that much he could tell. Moody was more of a pragmatist who had worked with Dumbledore in the Order because the Ministry wasn't doing enough, and they had argued continually about using lethal methods against Death Eaters, an argument that Sirius Black and James Potter had used. Dumbledore didn't want Death Eaters killed out of any pacifistic tendencies (though that was the reason he gave), but because they had been a useful political counterbalance to any forces that could usurp Dumbledore's power, both before and after the civil war. Plus, the less of the older Pureblood lines that died out, the better. Magical Britain had a very small population, and they needed to minimise the casualties. James Potter's death was regrettable, but he was also a loose cannon who had nearly jeopardised Dumbledore with his demands regarding his wife.

Snape was here because of the pledge he had made Dumbledore. But he was very much a reluctant supporter, serving two masters. A bitter little snot of a man who had begged the Dark Lord to spare Lily so that he could profess his love to her. Dumbledore sneered inwardly at that: she would never appreciate love from a man who had allowed her child to die (she had, by all accounts, loved Harry). Snape was an infatuated fool of a blood purist whose main use was in brewing Potions and being a spy.

And Lupin…fool of a werewolf, beginning to lose the gratitude towards Dumbledore for allowing a dark creature like him into Hogwarts. Gratitude he rightfully deserved. Lupin's loyalties to James Potter had died, towards the end, and he had distanced himself from the other Marauders because of Lily being given Amortentia. James, out of spite, began spreading rumours that Lupin was the spy, although this was still something they feared anyway. And Lupin hadn't forgiven the Order of this slight. He was only here because he could prove useful in bringing Harry back. His determination to do so was useful…to a point.

It was such a good thing that Sirius was not around. Dumbledore knew all too well that the man had not been the Secret Keeper, but Pettigrew had been, though he knew that neither Sirus nor the Potters knew that he knew. But Sirius would have gotten in the way of his plans for Harry after Voldemort's downfall, being the boy's godfather (and having his doubts in his old friend James, and Dumbledore). Dumbledore hadn't planned for Sirius to try and attack Pettigrew, or for Pettigrew to escape in the way he did, but it turned out perfectly in the end.

Dumbledore laid out his findings, and his theory, that Harry had been taken back to the Elemental Countries by Orochimaru. He didn't fail to notice Fletcher's expression trying, and failing, to mask a flinch during the resulting outcry. Fletcher knew something.

Without letting anyone else know what he was doing, he made eye contact with Fletcher, and used Legilimency on the man. What he found there inside the man's mephitic mind confirmed his theory, but also made him want to curse the man to a slow, painful death.

Eventually, it was Lupin who said, "If it is true, how are we going to get to the Elemental Countries? From what I've heard, they control who gets in and out very strictly. Barriers of all kinds, checks on papers…"

Good. It was good that Lupin brought it up. Being the more Ravenclaw-like member of the Marauders was going to work in Dumbledore's favour for a change. "Which is why you will be using Fawkes."

"Me?" Lupin asked, bemused.

"Severus and myself have duties at Hogwarts," Dumbledore pointed out. "Alastor and Arthur have duties at the Ministry. And Molly has her children to think of."

"And Dung is a coward," Lupin finished bitterly.

"Now, now, Remus," Dumbledore said chidingly. It wasn't that Lupin didn't speak the truth, it was that Dumbledore had an image to maintain. "In any case, Mundungus doesn't know Japanese, or the translation charm. With the right help, Fawkes can bring you close to Harry's location. Then, he can bring you back."

"And what then? Where will he stay?"

"I'm considering many possibilities, now that the Dursleys are not an option," Dumbledore said smoothly.

"They should never have been an option!" Lupin snapped. "Petunia detested magic, and so too did her husband!"

"They were also his family!" Dumbledore snapped. "Firstly, it means that the blood wards Lily put in place would give Harry a safe haven." A lie, of course. While Lily wouldn't wish death on Petunia, she also hadn't put any blood wards on the house(1). "Secondly, his closest relatives and guardians in Magical Britain are all unsuitable! Sirius Black is in Azkaban, a traitor to us all! Frank and Alice Longbottom are incurably insane! And the Malfoys, who are related to Harry through the Blacks, may try to make a play for the boy should he be placed with anyone else publicly, like, say, the Tonkses. You, Remus, have your own problem. The Ministry would never let you near Harry, regrettable though that is." It was far from regrettable, Dumbledore thought, but appearances must be kept up.

He noted that Lupin looked only slightly cowed. Was he going to have troubles with the werewolf in future? Was Lupin going to be insolent? Where was the werewolf's damn loyalty and gratitude? He was owed it a hundred times over, especially after the incident with Black and Snape.

After a moment, Lupin said, "All right. I'll go. But I intend to have a say where Harry is placed, this time."

 _You will try_ , Dumbledore thought, detesting the insolence of the werewolf. _But a memory charm or the Imperius Curse will fix that_.

* * *

Dumbledore didn't know it, but someone more older and certainly wiser than he was was working against him. He would have been surprised to learn who that was. After all, he would have been blind to someone working against him right under his very nose…

 **CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Bloody hell, that was a hard chapter to write. You'd think that bashing would be easy, but in fact, it was bloody hard. I think it's because I wanted to try and do a villainous Dumbledore in a halfway decent fashion. But despite the number of people who detest him in their fanfics, I normally try to reconstruct Dumbledore as a decent, but flawed, character (as I am so used to him being a good guy in the books, despite his actions). To go the other way is frankly taxing, and I've probably fucked up. Also, keep in mind that this is an AU in many regards: Dumbledore is an evil bastard in this story.**

 **The chapter title, by the way, is a reference to the famous music piece** ** _Flight of the Bumblebee_** **, and is a reference to 'dumbledore' being, according to Rowling, an older name for a bumblebee.**

 **Now, for those of you that care, the only other Harry Potter character in this chapter that I intend to bash so far is Snape. The guy really deserves it. Fletcher will also get his, albeit at the hands of Dumbledore. But the Weasleys will be free, though they'll have to be shaken out of their 'sheeple' nature.**

 **6K VIEWS? WTF? 0_0**

 **Review-answering time!** **Silvermane1** **: I hadn't considered that. Given the team I have decided for him (I will reiterate here that it isn't Team 7), he could fill that medic role, but actually, due to his magic (magic that Lupin** **will** **be tutoring him in), he will be the team's wild card. He won't be going to Hogwarts until relatively late (Year 3, if not Year 4). Unfortunately, that will have consequences for some of the Harry Potter cast. Poor Hermione… ;_;**

 **Mangahero18** **: Sakura won't be bashed here. She'll be a bit shrill, but otherwise, she and Harry will be friends (and she'll be asking for his help to tone down Naruto: remember that in the earlier chapters, Naruto's quite an obnoxious brat). When she learns about his parentage, she will be understandably shocked, but will be able to tell the difference between Orochimaru and Harry.**

 **Jostanos** **: You know what? Number 2 was what I had in mind. You'll see, later in the story. And definitely two of them, under Lupin's tutelage, will become Marauders of Konoha.**

 **Guest** **: I'm sorry, but I'm not into slash, and I wouldn't know how to write it properly. I'm sure there are plenty of fics out there that can slake your thirst.**

 **1\. Here, the blood wards definitely don't exist. In this story, they're a bullshit story.**


	8. Chapter 7: Phoenix, Wolf, Snake, Fox

**CHAPTER 7:**

 **PHOENIX, WOLF, SNAKE, FOX**

With a blast of flame and a scintillating song, Fawkes and Remus Lupin appeared in the Elemental Countries, specifically in a forest not far from Konoha. Lupin felt weariness etched into every bone of his body, even as he applied the translation charm. Ever since his falling out with James, he felt more and more like he couldn't trust Dumbledore anymore. The revelations he heard only served to increase that mistrust. And yet, here he was, doing the old goat's bidding.

How could he look Harry in the eye, and tell him to come back, to a man who had erred spectacularly in leaving Harry with the Dursleys? To a man who may very well have assisted James Potter in dosing Lily with Amortentia?

As if sensing his thoughts, Fawkes trilled, as if in agreement. "But how will I be able to stop Dumbledore?" he asked out loud, suddenly cursing himself for talking out loud.

Fawkes trilled once more, before flying off his shoulder, perching on a nearby branch of a tree. He then began to rap at the trunk with his beak and scratch at the branch in an irregular pattern. It took a moment for Lupin to catch on. His eyes widened when he recognised Morse code. The Marauders had used it as a basic code at times, but he didn't know Fawkes knew it. He was spelling out his name in Morse.

"You can reply to me?"

In a series of knocks and scratches, Fawkes said, _Of course_. He punctuated this with a roll of the eyes.

"Okay…umm…what are we going to do?"

 _Old goat too senile to see I am bound to Hogwarts, not to Headmaster. Goat thought I was bound to him after he used spells. Imbecile_.

Remus laughed at this. "So, you're bound to Hogwarts? But why can't you stop Dumbledore?"

 _Cannot harm him thanks to his spells, nor can leave Hogwarts forever as am bound to it. Need to be like Slytherin. Need to be cunning. Harry is here, but we will not bring him back. Willing to play a good prank on goat, wolf?_

Lupin laughed. "I'm game. But do you think Harry will be happy here?"

 _We will see. Need to find him. In village nearby. Can sense his magic, thanks to ritual old goat put us through. Be diplomatic and honest, wolf. Won't care as much about your curse here. May not have Wolfsbane potion, but will give you a place to unleash beast without fear_.

"Do you mean…I should offer to stay here?"

 _Yes. Incidentally, dog was innocent. Rat was real Secret Keeper. Unfortunately, old goat has bound me to not help him escape_.

Remus blinked as he translated the taps. His face twisted into a scowl. He had so many things he wanted to say and do to the so-called 'Leader of the Light'. He was brought out of it by Fawkes' tapping.

 _Focus on Harry. More important than goat. As for dog…Azkaban has never known shinobi infiltration…_

* * *

They reached the massive gates of Konoha, with Lupin still angry at Dumbledore, especially for betraying Sirius. But he also felt self-reproach for his own readiness to believe that Sirius had been the traitor. Even Fawkes' soothing song did little to help.

The two guards looked at Remus as he approached, and gave him looks of more than a little suspicion. "Halt!" one of them said. "What business do you have here?"

"My name is Remus Lupin. I have come searching for someone, as well as to warn of others searching for him in order to abduct him. I am from the world outside the Elemental Countries. Can someone please take me to your local authority?"

The two guards looked at each other, before one of them nodded. "Stay here. There'll be someone along to pick you up before long."

He made a signal of some kind. Remus waited patiently. Then, some minutes later, the gates opened. A young woman with purple messy hair done up in a ponytail, and a tan coat and miniskirt worn over a mesh bodysuit came through, and then peered at him. "Okay, who're you, and what're you doing here?" she asked.

Remus repeated himself. The woman peered at him for a time, before she said, "And what is the name of this 'someone' you are looking for?"

"Harry Potter. Dark hair, gold-green eyes, snake-like. He has a scar on his forehead, like a thunderbolt." He didn't like the way her eyes narrowed at his description. It was clear that she knew who he was speaking of.

Then, a rather vicious smirk came over her face. "Come with me," she said. "There's someone you need to talk to…"

* * *

That someone turned out to be the woman's boss. The woman was Anko Mitarashi, and her boss was a scarred man by the name of Ibiki. And they worked in this village's interrogation department, it seemed.

Remus had to give it to Ibiki, he knew how to interrogate people. He was brilliant at psychological manipulation, using sheer intimidation and words to try and get his way. Remus, however, was deliberately forthcoming. He divulged everything he knew about Dumbledore and his plans (insomuch as he knew them), and, given what Fawkes claimed, decided to reveal that he was a werewolf. This certainly threw them.

He also stated, frankly, his reasons for coming here: to see Harry. Given how werewolves were treated in Magical Britain (and, frankly, in many other parts of the world), he had few places to go. He could tutor Harry in magic, and look after him. He was doing this for the memory of Lily, not for James Potter, whom he had become disillusioned with.

He even swore a vow on his magic (specifically, that he had come here not to take Harry back to Dumbledore), but while the resulting lightshow did make the two of them clap, they were also somewhat sceptical, understandably.

It took some time before the two of them were remotely satisfied, though Anko threatened to neuter him if he betrayed them. Remus knew that she was also more than capable of doing so. Anko then shocked him by revealing that she was all but Harry's guardian, and offered to take him to meet the boy.

As they walked through the streets of Konoha, Fawkes soaring overhead, Remus looked around, taking in the Hokage Monument, the four faces resembling Mount Rushmore in America. "How is he, anyway?" Remus asked.

Anko shot him a look, before saying, "Beginning to settle in. He's only been here a few days. You gotta understand, getting kidnapped by Orochimaru is a hell of a shock. Finding out that the snake bastard is your father is pretty nasty."

"I'll say. From what the old goat told me, he's a lot like You-Know-Who."

"What, you mean that Voldemort bastard?" Anko asked.

Remus flinched, but said, "Well, actually, Sirius used to call him the Dark Wanker."

At this, Anko laughed. "But seriously, why call him You-Know-Who?"

"Well, he became someone to be feared. And besides, there's a spell, called a Taboo spell, that lets you know if someone speaks your name. He put it on his name during the last year of the war against him, and dispatched people to abduct or murder the speaker."

Anko whistled. "Ah, no wonder you got frightened of saying the name. Still, I like 'the Dark Wanker' more. I wish I could call Orochimaru 'the Snake Wanker', but as far as I know, he ain't quite into that much intimacy with his snakes."

Lupin stared at her, before laughing, despite himself. Crude though it was, it was funny. "So, why do you work in that interrogation department?"

"A few reasons. Someone's gotta do it, I happen to like it, and, frankly, it's one of the few places where people won't look down on me."

"Why's that?"

A dark look came over the young woman's face. "Let's just say that I have my own personal score to settle with Orochimaru, and like you being a werewolf, it tends to make folks think I'm a ticking time bomb."

"Yeah. I know what that feels like," Lupin said. He looked around the bustling streets. "You know, this isn't what I expected from a village filled with ninja. I expected it to be a bit more…militaristic. Not that I'm complaining, mind. It's a nice place."

"I'm glad you like it," Anko said. She looked up at Fawkes. "Been a long time since anyone's seen a phoenix here. I'd say 'who'd want to control a magnificent bird like that?', but I personally knew at least one person. That old goat of yours needs a bit of the old T&I treatment. Full-on treatment. Like the sort we give to traitors."

Remus shuddered. He had gotten off pretty lightly with the more psychological tactics of Ibiki. But he had seen the instruments they had in T&I, with Anko occasionally interjecting in his interrogation to give graphic descriptions of what they could do. She reminded him a little of Bellatrix Lestrange, only she was a bit less sadistic and (perversely for someone involved in torture and interrogation) more moral. At least what she did, she did out of duty to her village.

* * *

They reached the academy. The classes had left some time ago, and only a few kids were left. Two of them were hanging around at the swings. A blonde-haired kid with blue eyes and orange clothing was sitting on one of the swings, while a dark-haired boy was talking to him about some matter or other. "Yo, Mitsuki!" Anko called out, getting the dark-haired boy's attention. "Come here! And bring the brat!"

Lupin already knew that Mitsuki was the name Harry answered to in this place, given what Anko had said. He felt a lump in his throat when he saw the boy turn around, his gold and green eyes with the snake-like slit pupils. And he felt a chill when he saw them widen, and then narrow upon seeing him. Of course, Lupin's robes (which were beginning to get too hot to wear in this climate) did look out of place here, as did his European features.

"I'm not a brat, _dattebayo!_ " the blonde-haired boy yelped indignantly as he followed Harry to Anko. He then peered at Lupin. "And who's the new guy? Your boyfriend?"

If Remus had been drinking, he would have choked on it then and there. As for Anko, she just said, "Listen here, brat, this guy's a newcomer to the village. He most certainly isn't my boyfriend. And here I was thinking of taking you two to dinner."

"Ichiraku's! Please, please, please! Mitsuki told me you like _dango_ , but ramen is the food of the gods, and…"

"Naruto!" Harry rebuked. "I've only known you for a few days. Anko wanted to take us to dinner for a treat."

"Eh, Ichiraku's is pretty good, I hear," Anko said. "You ever have ramen, Lupin?"

Remus rubbed his head sheepishly. "I think the closest I've come to that is having a Pot Noodle(1). Sometimes, it was the only thing I could afford."

"Oh, yeah, before I forget…Mitsuki, this guy is Lupin. He used to know your mother. Apparently he was sent here by some old coot to bring you back to England, but he'd much prefer to stay here."

As Harry stared, startled, Lupin hissed at Anko, "Haven't you heard of tact and subtlety?"

"Yep. The bigger question is, should I care?"

Suddenly, Harry seemed to hiss at Anko, looking frightened and wary. Anko hissed back. There seemed to be a conversation of sorts. "What's going on?" Remus asked, dreading the answer.

"Oh, Mitsuki and Crazy Snake Lady can talk to snakes," Naruto said. "They can even talk to each other in some secret language."

"They're both Parselmouths?" Remus all but yelped.

"Oh, so that's what it is," Naruto said.

Eventually, Harry and Anko finished their conversation in Parseltongue, and Harry looked at Lupin warily. "Anko says that she and Ibiki have cleared you…but I want to know, why didn't you look after me?"

Lupin sighed at the mild but noticeable (and understandable) undertone of anger in Harry's voice. He should have seen this coming. "Let's talk over the meal, okay?"

* * *

They went to Ichiraku's, apparently a frequent haunt of Naruto's. This was Harry's first time coming here, though, but after a brief look of shock at Harry's ophidian eyes, the staff seemed happy enough to serve him, as well as Anko and Remus. It was a fairly early dinner, but it didn't seem to matter to any of them, and to be honest, Remus was hungry. Fawkes also settled onto a chair next to Naruto, who seemed fascinated by the bird, even as he shovelled bowlfuls of ramen into his mouth.

"So, why didn't you look after me?" Harry asked as he had his own ramen.

"The biggest reason was that I was a fool," Remus admitted. "I listened to the old goat. Albus Dumbledore," he clarified. "The Headmaster of Hogwarts, which is the magic school your mother and I attended, as well as head of the Wizengamot, which is our Parliament, and Chief Mugwump of the ICW. He was also someone we looked up to, so when he told me you were safe, I took him at his word. Of course, if I had known he had put you with the Dursleys…but even then, there's another factor." He looked at Anko, before admitting, "I'm a werewolf."

Harry's eyes widened, as did Naruto's. "A werewolf?!"

"Yes. It's a mark of great shame in society, even if you try to be a decent person," Remus said with a sigh. "Dumbledore made it very clear that I would be indebted to him in allowing a pariah like me to attend Hogwarts. And the laws passed by our Ministry of Magic would have prevented me from looking after you. You have every right to be angry, Harry, but there have been reasons."

"Why did you call him 'Ha-Ri'?" Naruto asked, his brow furrowing.

"It was his birth name, brat," Anko retorted. "Harry was the name given by his mother and her husband…but his real father called him Mitsuki."

"Oh." Naruto blinked. "So you _do_ come from an outside world or something?" he asked Harry.

"It's not something I like to talk about," Harry said quietly.

Any further discussion on the matter was halted when a slurred voice remarked, "Well, I don' wanna eat here. Not if they let the likes o' him in there."

Remus, almost on instinct, whirled, to find some drunken idiot glaring…but not at him or Harry, which was his original assumption. But at Naruto.

"Bloody fox," the drunk said. Remus didn't fail to notice Naruto's posture stiffen. Or the fox-like whisker marks on the boy's face. But there seemed to be a lot of venom towards the child, far more than if he was a troublemaker.

Anko had also turned in her seat, and was toying with one of those dagger things with a ring, a kunai she called it, while glaring at the man. "Care to repeat that, idiot?"

"Oh look, it's Orochimaru's whore," the man sneered. "I heard you sired a bastard whelp wi' him. Is that him there?" he said, pointing to Harry.

A low growl emanated from Anko's throat. A growl that suggested that if said man didn't take it back, said man would probably end up with an impromptu castration.

Remus stood. "Sir, I am trying to have a decent dinner." He took out his wand. "Now, leave, or suffer the consequences."

"What're you gonna do with a stick?" the man retorted.

"This. _Petrificus Totalus_ ," Remus said, the spell making the man's arms and legs snap to his sides, and he collapsed like a log, frozen.

Harry, Naruto, and Anko stared. Then, Anko cackled. "I _like_ you!"

"Was that magic?" Harry said, getting off his stool and looking at the man in concern, despite the nastiness of the man. "Will he be okay?"

"Yes, it was magic. A Body-Bind spell. And yes, he's unharmed…save for maybe a lump on his head when he hit the ground," Lupin said.

The waitress, who had watched it happen, came out from behind the counter, and began dragging the man outside. Lupin helped her. As he did so, she asked, "How did you do that with a stick? Was that really magic, or some kind of jutsu?"

"Magic, though what little I understand of jutsus indicates that they use similar energy." As they got outside, Lupin asked, in a quiet voice, "Why did that man call Naruto a fox?"

"I can't say. There's a law against it. If you say anything, you are executed. If you want answers, ask the Hokage. He's the only one who may divulge it."

"I may just do that, Miss…?"

"Ayame," the waitress said.

"Thank you. I'm Remus Lupin."

Soon, they left Ichiraku's, with Anko telling Lupin that she had made arrangements for him to stay in a guarded apartment, and not to try anything. He would be seeing the Hokage tomorrow anyway, as a matter of fact, as a final debriefing. And Lupin wanted some answers…

 **CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Remus in Konoha! Fawkes the chessmaster!**

 **Now, in case you're wondering why I portrayed Fawkes like this, I decided to do it unlike his more 'villainous' portrayal in many of sakurademonalchemist's stories. I took a lot of liberties with Fawkes' character and how he came to be the 'loyal friend' (read: slave) of Dumbledore. Remember, this is not canon Harry Potter by a long shot. At least this chapter was easier to write than the prior one. I like Lupin.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Jostanos** **: You may have to wait a while before either the pairing or the Konoha Marauders come to pass.**

 **1\. A Pot Noodle does seem to be a form of instant ramen, although ramen in the UK seems to be more about the actual dish than noodles-in-a-cup. Pot Noodles are often the butt of many a joke. It's a running gag in** ** _Red Dwarf_** **about how inedible they are: in** ** _Marooned_** **, when Lister is stranded on a remote planet, and his biggest choices in food are a Pot Noodle and a tin of dog food, he would prefer to have dog food, while in** ** _Demons & Angels_** **, Lister and Cat, while on the High version of the Red Dwarf, decide to test the perfection of the ship's vending machine by ordering a Pot Noodle. Finding that it tastes wonderful is an experience that Lister considers the most unbelievable he's ever done, above even going to a universe where time runs backwards, giving birth to twins, and playing pool with planets.**


	9. Chapter 8: Revelations

**CHAPTER 8:**

 **REVELATIONS**

There were many similarities, Lupin realised, between Dumbledore and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage. They were both old men who, though they looked superficially frail, old, and doddery, nonetheless had a core of inner strength and authority that couldn't be denied.

Of course, at least his eyes didn't twinkle, not in that same way Dumbledore's did at least. For being the leader of a village full of shinobi, versed in the arts of deception, the Hokage put on less of a mask. True, he had a kindly attitude, but you couldn't mistake that, for all his niceness, that he was the military leader of this village, as well as its 'mayor'.

"So, you're the foreign wizard that Ibiki notified me of."

"Yes. I am Remus Lupin, Lord Hokage," Lupin said with a brief, but respectful bow. Fawkes, who had spent the night with him in the guarded apartment gave a trill from where he was now perched in the office. "And this bird is Fawkes."

"A phoenix. It has been some time since I have seen one," the Hokage mused. "Ibiki tells me that you have been rather frank about your purpose here, or at least the one you have been sent to fulfil by Dumbledore. To kidnap Harry Potter."

"With all due respect, Lord Hokage," Lupin said, and meaning that, unlike many uses of the term, quite some respect was due to the Hokage, "the boy himself was kidnapped from England, by one of your own outlaw ninjas. He could very well have ended up in a far worse situation than he is in now. It is only by luck that he ended up here, and even though he seems to have a caring guardian," _Who seems to be the ninja equivalent of Bellatrix Lestrange_ , Lupin reflected, "last night, he was already accosted by a man who accused said guardian of having Harry with Orochimaru. Oh, and he called a kid called Naruto a fox, and in a way that suggested that the kid was a werewolf himself. Ayame, the waitress there, told me that an S-Rank secret was involved, and that if anyone but you divulged it, they would be executed. So, I've come for answers, just as you want from me."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes. "First, I will make the final confirmation as to your trustworthiness, Lupin. You came here to kidnap Harry Potter. Why did you change your mind? And why, for that matter, did you not look after the boy before?"

Lupin sighed. He had answered such questions back at T&I, as well as to Harry's face. "I only wanted to bring him to safety. Dumbledore all but shanghaied me…conscripted me," he added, noticing the confused look on the Hokage's face (damn translation charm: didn't always work with a few colloquialisms), "into doing so, as I was pretty much the only member of the Order of the Phoenix without any business to take care of, or could cast the translation charm. I came because it had been years since I had seen Harry, and didn't know how to defy Dumbledore. Fawkes here indicated that he would help me keep Harry here."

"How did the phoenix do so?"

"Morse code." Seeing the Hokage's blank look, he explained, "A code created by Muggles, non-magic users, encoding letters and numbers as short and long light flashes or audible tones, known as dots and dashes. Fawkes did so by rapping his beak against a tree trunk for dots, and scratching the branch with his claws for dashes. He is bound to Hogwarts, but Dumbledore tried to impose further bindings to himself, personally."

The Hokage scowled. Eventually, he said, "You still haven't answered one of my questions, Lupin. Why did you not care for the boy before?"

"A couple of reasons. The first, admittedly, wasn't a very good one. He was Albus Dumbledore, and that was a name that commanded great respect automatically. But I also remembered how he may have enabled James to ensnare Lily, as well as how they treated me towards the end of the war. As for the second reason, I am a werewolf. I'm a second-class citizen under the laws of the Ministry of Magic. I find it hard to hold down work in Muggle areas, as I'd have to declare that I'm a werewolf to any magical employer, and virtually nobody would employ me. It would also ensure that I have no chance of being Harry's guardian, though had I known he would be placed with the Dursleys…"

"And what happens when you're a werewolf? When do you transform?"

"Nights of the full moon, but I feel ill before and after. Fawkes suggested that there may be places I can isolate myself during the full moon."

"Plenty. One of the training grounds, like the Forest of Death. And there are plenty of secure facilities we can put you into." The Hokage looked at him. "I have already decided that you be given probationary citizen status. Please do not abuse the trust I have placed in you. But you wished to ask me a question, which was regarding Naruto's status. I will remind you that this is an S-Ranked secret. Unless you have been given leave by me, uttering this to someone not in the know is punishable by execution. Naruto is unaware of this, and so too is Harry."

Remus nodded. "I understand. Well?"

"Tell me, Lupin, have you heard of the Tailed Beasts, the _Bijuu?_ "

Remus frowned. He knew a little about the Elemental Countries, and being a specialist in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and dark creatures in particular, he had heard about them. "I think so. Rumours and myth, mostly. Demonic creatures, extremely powerful, noted for destructive rampages. There's nine of them, so the tales go, each with a number of tails denoting its power and rank relative to other Tailed Beasts. But beyond that, I know little. Oh, I do know that there's a tanuki with one tail, a cat with two tails, and a fox with nine, but that's it…" Remus blinked, remembering the drunkard's words. "Wait a moment…is Naruto one of them?"

"Not quite. He is a _jinchuriki_ , which translates to 'Power of Human Sacrifice', though a better term might be 'Human Container'. Specifically, he is the container of the _Kyuubi no Youko_ , the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."

Remus stared. Eventually, he said, "But…why would you do such a thing? Why would you seal such a destructive entity as a Tailed Beast into a child?"

"There are various reasons, and in any case, it was not I who did so: it was my late successor, the Fourth Hokage. And at the time, he had little choice: the _Kyuubi_ was rampaging out of control, trying to destroy Konoha. The Tailed Beasts cannot be killed. Even if they are, they are beings of pure chakra who can reform after a short period of disembodiment. So to imprison them, to make sure that they cannot rampage, is the main purpose of such an act. I understand how you can find an act barbaric: it is not a course of action I would undertake lightly myself."

Remus looked at the old man in front of him. Sadness glittered in the old man's eyes. "But why Naruto?" Remus asked. His eyes flickered over to pictures of the Hokages…and settled on a man with blonde hair and blue eyes…and a stern demeanour. His gaze returned to the Hokage. "His own son?"

"It's not a connection many have made," the Hokage admitted. "Many would refuse to consider one of Konoha's biggest troublemakers to be the son of the Fourth Hokage. And it is an S-Ranked secret, more so than Naruto being the container of the _Kyuubi_. Minato Namikaze became famous in one of our wars, and even after death, he has many enemies who would see any offspring of his dead. He used a technique not dissimilar to your Apparition, the Flying Thundergod Technique, developed originally by my own sensei(1). Minato became known as the 'Yellow Flash'. So Naruto cannot be known as the son of Minato Namikaze, lest he face more enemies than he is ready for."

"But why his own son?"

"Because he could not ask anyone else from the village to give up their own child," the Hokage replied. "In any case, it is appropriate, given that his mother was the previous container. However, both died during those events. Kushina Uzumaki died of injuries sustained both from childbirth and the _Kyuubi_ attacking her, while Minato Namikaze used a specific, forbidden jutsu to seal the _Kyuubi_ , removing a significant portion of its power at the cost of his own life. It was the Fourth Hokage's wish that Naruto be seen as a hero for holding the fox prisoner, but not enough people make the distinction between the fox and Naruto."

Remus blinked. After a moment to digest this, he asked, "Are you ever going to tell Naruto? About the _Kyuubi_ , I mean. I can understand not telling him about his father until he's strong enough to deal with potential assassins, but he deserves to know why people are glaring at him, or calling him names."

"I was going to tell him when he graduated from the academy," the Hokage said.

"With all due respect, Lord Hokage, that may backfire on you. Has he ever asked you why the villagers look down on him?" When the Hokage nodded mutely, Remus said, "That's part of the point I'm making. The longer you lie to him, the bigger the feeling of betrayal he will have when he does learn the truth. While we were at Ichiraku's, after I dealt with that drunkard, Naruto spoke very highly of you, like a grandfather. He called you 'Old Man', a bit disrespectful, but he did so affectionately. What will happen if he finds out you have been concealing the truth? He may not react as badly as I fear, but what if he does? Would the _Kyuubi_ be unleashed?"

"From what I understand of _jinchuriki_ , when they feel extreme anger and hatred, the chakra of the beast is unleashed."

"All the more reason to know early, so that he can start on controlling that. Maybe learning Occlumency might help stave off the influence of the beast."

"Occlumency?"

"Mental protection techniques. They can be used as both psychological and mental therapy, but are primarily used for mention protection from mental invasion, which is called Legilimency. Occlumency also includes a number of mnemonic techniques, as they involve creating mental landscapes to help defend the mind. It might help Naruto with his schooling. Harry indicated that he's towards the bottom of the class, apparently."

"That's not just Naruto, though he could do with paying more attention. Despite my best efforts, more than a few teachers don't give him any attention. I suspect a couple of even deliberately sabotaging his education. But if you are willing to help…"

"Yes. I wanted primarily to help Harry with his magical education and make sure he was happy, but if you'll allow me, I will help Naruto in any way that I can."

"Then I will grant you permission, but you will be kept under watch until you have proved your loyalty. I will have a member of ANBU keep an eye on you."

"ANBU?"

"Literally means 'Dark Side' in your language, and would be equivalent to 'elite special forces'. Used as bodyguards for the Hokage and persons of importance, hunters of rogue ninjas, and assassins on the most important and darkest of missions. I know enough of your culture to say that they are like elite Hit Wizards, though that is an incomplete analogy. ANBU are more willing to kill, and are closer to an elite military unit, whereas Hit Wizards seem to be an elite civilian police unit."

Remus nodded. "So ANBU is like the SAS?"

"The British special forces unit? A very rough analogy, but yes(2)."

"Scary. And I have one of them as a bodyguard and possible executioner, should I prove treacherous." Remus' instincts were suddenly screaming. He hadn't heard or felt or smelt a damn thing, but the wolf within was snarling. "And my guard's right behind me."

"He's good," came a voice, faintly muffled by what sounded like a mask. "For a mage and a civilian."

Remus turned to face a woman wearing a porcelain mask with a stylised depiction of a cat on it. Purple hair, long and straight, was the only mark of the woman.

"Remus Lupin, this is Neko(3). She will be your guard…and as you say, a potential executioner. I hope that it won't come to that. I have forgiven many transgressions in my life, and many have come back to haunt me, like Orochimaru. Please do not abuse the trust I place in you. In any case, I will tell Naruto about the _Kyuubi_. I want you to be there…and I will tell Anko to bring Harry there as well."

"Why is that?"

"By all accounts, the boy knows what it is like to grow up isolated and alone," the Hokage said. "My mistake was in trusting in the decency of people, to have them see Naruto for being the prison and not the fox. Naruto has few who actually like him and care about him. Most either ignore him, or consider him with contempt. Few, but too many regardless, view him with such hatred, that they would want him to die. Lupin, I will not lie to you: most _jinchuriki_ are treated as living weapons, nothing more. But you must believe me that I want Naruto to have an enjoyable life. But direct intervention is hard, because of the politics of the village. I try to do things for the good of the village and everyone who dwells within these walls, but I make mistakes."

Remus gave him an appraising look, before nodding. "At least you admit you make them." Then, Fawkes' words from earlier came back to him. "Actually, I was wondering if there was something you could do. A friend of mine whom I believed to be a traitor was framed, and is currently in the wizarding prison of Azkaban. Is there any possibility that he could be freed?"

"Perhaps…but from what Jiraiya has told me about Azkaban, it would be an A-Rank mission, if not an S-Rank. And I am sorry to say that we rarely do those missions _pro bono_."

Remus scowled. This wasn't the answer he was expecting. Eventually, he said, "What if I were to tell you he was an experienced Hit Wizard, and the last I heard, would die for Harry?"

"I would consider it. But make no mistake, Lupin, I will not squander my men. Prove your trustworthiness to the village, and then we will talk about saving your friend…"

 **CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Sorry about this one being more than a bit talky. It just wrote itself like that. Of course, this will be the last of the fast updates: I intend to write the next chapter before long, true, but don't expect it as quickly as the last few.**

 **Over 8K views! Woohoo!**

 **Review-answering time!** **outofthisworldgal** **: It's funny you should say that about Anko and Lupin…**

 **Jostanos** **: Unlike sakurademonalchemist's stories, there won't be any other magic users in Konoha…save for one. In fact, I wasn't intending for anyone to have it in Konoha besides Harry, Remus, or other characters from Magical Britain, but one person has stood out. And no, it won't be Naruto, or any member of Team 7. In fact, it will be a member of Harry's team, who, incidentally, I have decided on, but I'm not revealing yet.**

 **1\. I got the impression from fanfic that it was Minato Namikaze who created the Flying Thundergod Technique. But a check of the** ** _Naruto_** **wiki actually told me the truth: it was Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, who actually created the technique. Minato just became known for using the technique a lot in battle.**

 **2\. The Hokage presumably knows about the SAS through Jiraiya (Jiraiya would certainly assess the military forces in the world outside, as a matter of course). The analogy is imperfect (there is a different between our normal military and** ** _Naruto_** **ninja, obviously), but given the stealth and black ops that groups like the SAS undergo, it's not an unfounded one, and given that Remus is British, it's the closest equivalent he can think of to an elite military unit, even if it's a Muggle one.**

 **3\. This is, of course, Yuugao Uzuki, if you need translation.**


	10. Chapter 9: The Truth Hurts, Doesn't It?

**CHAPTER 9:**

 **THE TRUTH HURTS, DOESN'T IT?**

Naruto was, understandably, not happy about learning about what lay within him when they told him after school later that day in the Hokage's office. In fact, he was understandably angry with the Hokage for deliberately withholding the information from him. Thankfully, this took the form of a childish tantrum rather than unleashing the _Kyuubi_ chakra in a decidedly apocalyptic manner. And thankfully, it was just a lot of ranting, raving, and even a few swear words no seven-year old should know.

Remus and the Hokage just let Naruto's conniption run its course, making sure to be ready in case the _Kyuubi_ did make an appearance. There was a hairy moment at one point when Naruto's eyes briefly turned red, and the pupils became slitted, but he managed to calm himself down. Anko and Harry were also with them, as Harry had become sort of attached (even in the short period they had known each other) to the young _jinchuriki_. And the Hokage recognised that having a friend, or at least a fellow outcast, might be of help.

Eventually, Naruto finished raging, and then looked at Harry. "Mitsuki…you don't hate me, do you?"

"Why would I?" Harry asked. "You're not the fox. You're the container. I'd be scared if you let it loose, but I'm not scared of you. Anyway, it's not like I'm not a freak."

"What do you mean?"

Harry looked over at Anko, before leaning across, and saying, "I am the son of Orochimaru."

"Huh? Who's that?"

The Hokage resisted the urge to facepalm. He knew Naruto was inattentive, but they hadn't covered the _Sannin_ yet at school. "One of the _Sannin_. Not only that, but he's a traitor to this village," Harry explained.

"Some years ago," Remus said quietly, "he travelled to the world outside the Elemental Countries. He had an affair with a woman I knew called Lily Potter."

"An affair? What's that?"

"Simply put, brat, Mitsuki is Orochimaru's kid, instead of Lily Potter's husband," Anko said.

"It's a long story," Lupin said, "but briefly, Harry's mother was dosed with Amortentia. It's called a love potion, but it just induces an infatuation, not love. Her husband was the one responsible. When she found out, she fled. She met Orochimaru, and didn't know he was a bad man."

"I was called a freak by my relatives," Harry said bleakly. "And not just because of my eyes. Orochimaru said that my aunt and uncle knew about magic."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was telling the truth, Harry," the Hokage said. "Orochimaru knows how to use the truth, either twisted or unadulterated, to make people do his whim. But that does not make you Orochimaru, any more than being a _jinchuriki_ makes Naruto the beast inside."

"Or being a werewolf makes you like the beast itself," Lupin said quietly. "I mean, look at me. Do I look like a werewolf to you?"

"Of course not. You just look old!" Naruto said with his usual bluntness.

Remus looked startled. "I'm only 28!"

Anko laughed. "It's all the grey hairs! And the tattered clothing!"

"Yeah! But you're only dangerous when it's the full moon, right?"

"Yes."

"Then I don't care, as long as you're away from us during the full moon!" Naruto said with a smile. "Besides, you've got some cool magic, _dattebayo!_ "

"Speaking of verbal tics," the Hokage interjected, "I've come to a decision, one that I have not made lightly. You have asked me about your parents, Naruto. As with the Kyuubi, I have been keeping that knowledge from you. However, I cannot tell you about your father yet."

"Why not?!" Naruto yelped.

"Because he made many enemies during his time, enemies who would try to assassinate you. I will tell you about him when I feel you are ready to know, and thus ready to fend off his enemies. You will have to wait until you make _chunin_ at the least, if not _jounin_. However, it is not widely known outside the village who his wife was, and it's certainly not that known inside the village. I feel that I can safely tell you about your mother."

"What? Tell me, tell me, tell me!" Naruto yelped in an insistent tone.

"Her name was Kushina Uzumaki, although she gained the _nom de guerre_ of the Red-Hot Habanero. Not only that, but she was also the previous _jinchuriki_ of the _Kyuubi_. And like you, she loved ramen, and had her own verbal tic, _dattebane_."

Lupin listened as the Hokage gave Naruto a potted history not only of the life of his mother, but also of the Uzumaki clan. It was fascinating to hear about them: the Uzumakis were once the ruling clan of Uzushio, the Village Hidden in the Whirlpools, and were noted for their expertise in _fuinjutsu_ , or sealing (which seemed like an offshoot of Runes, Lupin thought). So feared were the Uzumakis, that they were destroyed by the combined forces of their enemies…but it took three days, and heavy casualties on the enemy side, before the seals could be breached, and the Uzumakis massacred, shortly before reinforcements from Konoha could arrive.

Naruto listened, rapt with attention. It was the first time he had heard anything about his family, and he was understandably eager to devour every detail. And at the end of it, he was uncharacteristically solemn, not least because he learned that his mother perished not long after giving birth to him. She perished at the hands, or rather the claws, of the _Kyuubi_ , trying to save Naruto's life. He even showed Naruto a picture of Kushina, who had long red hair, and a rather feisty-looking expression.

Afterwards, Naruto began weeping. He allowed himself to be drawn into a hug by the Hokage, and the old man just held the boy close as Naruto wept.

"I'm sure that's one thing you and Harry have in common," Lupin said quietly. "You both had mothers who were willing to lay down their lives for their children. Oh, and they were both redheads."

"Do you have any pictures of my parents with you?" Harry asked Lupin.

"I have exactly one," Lupin said quietly, having brought one with him to try and show to Harry. He hadn't managed to before now.

As he handed it over, Harry's eyes widened. "Whoa! The picture is moving!"

"That's so cool, _dattebayo!_ " Naruto said, leaning over and looking at it.

"Wizard photos and paintings can move. The paintings are even sentient, to a degree," Lupin explained. "They can converse with the living, even move between frames. The photos can't talk(1), but they can move and act."

"…The man's glaring at me," Harry said quietly. "He knew I wasn't his, didn't he?"

Remus nodded. "It was the source of a lot of friction between them. Sirius became your godfather, but he seemed a bit reluctant, given your snake eyes. He didn't really like anyone in Slytherin, save for his own cousin, Andromeda, and that was because she married a Muggleborn."

"Slytherin? Muggleborn?"

"Oh, sorry. Slytherin is one of the four Houses at Hogwarts…"

* * *

Lupin launched into a brief primer about the magical world, and about Hogwarts. Harry listened to every word, as rapt as Naruto had been when he learned about his mother. The three Konoha residents also listened, Naruto and Anko with keen interest, while the Hokage listened with a pensive look on his face.

It took Harry a moment to understand the concept of blood purity, and even less time to sneer at it, as did Anko and Naruto. Unfortunately, the Hokage reflected, there were a few of that type of person here in the clans with a bloodline limit, albeit their attitude was more about blood _elitism_ than blood _purity_. Many of the Uchiha clan were, sadly, a prime example, and the Hyuuga clan had a lesser case, both clans having this attitude due to their _doujutsu_. And too many elite ninja fell prey to an attitude that the strong must always dominate the weak: to his shame, he counted amongst that number his own student, Orochimaru.

Lupin also explained more about his purpose in coming here, in being conscripted by Dumbledore into coming here. Dumbledore, it seemed, had some sort of plan in mind for Harry Potter, and Lupin was doubtful that it was any good. It was more of a hunch than anything else, albeit one confirmed by Fawkes, but given how he had left Harry to the dubious care of the Dursleys, it couldn't be anything good.

"The problem is, how to make sure Dumbledore stays out of Konoha," Lupin said.

"I've been pondering that very problem," the Hokage said. "And I believe taking a leaf out of the shinobi rules would be appropriate here. A bit of theatre, and a bit of misdirection. Tell me, Anko, as you are something of an expert on these matters, how much blood would we need for a decent missive?"

"Oh, not much. Why?"

Lupin blanched. "Even dried blood could be used in rituals to find my location."

"Oh. Well, scratch that idea. Don't look so disappointed Anko."

Anko pouted, almost childishly. "You're no fun."

"What were you thinking of, anyway?" Lupin asked.

"Simple. Write a letter, but as Orochimaru, saying that he has both Harry and Lupin captive, and thanking Dumbledore for providing two mages, including a werewolf, for his experiments. I've seen Orochimaru's handwriting enough to fake it, though I doubt that Dumbledore will notice, as I am writing the missive in Japanese."

Fawkes, who was perched on a nearby filing cabinet, began rapping on it and scratching at it. Remus frowned as he translated. "Fawkes also said to make it convincing, we can cut off a leg, and mortally wound him. He'll be able to transport himself away before he expires."

"What? But he's such a beautiful bird! I don't want to kill him!" Harry protested.

"He's also a phoenix, Harry," Lupin explained patiently. "If he grows too old, or is mortally wounded, he rejuvenates himself."

"Like the Doctor(2)?" Harry asked.

"Yes, except there's a lot more fire," Lupin said with a smile.

"What do you mean, the Doctor? Doctor who?" Anko asked.

"Yes, _Doctor Who_. It's a television show from home. Muggle-made, but very enjoyable. The main character is a time-travelling alien who can come back to life from mortal wounds, but changes his appearance in the process. In any case, while I'm sure that the experience would be unpleasant for Fawkes, he has volunteered to do this, haven't you?"

Fawkes nodded, and while it was hard to tell with a beak, he seemed to have a smug smile on his face. He then rapped and scratched out a series of further words in Morse that Remus translated as "Biggest prank on old goat, ever."

"I like you, Fawkes!" Naruto chirped. Of course he would, the Hokage thought. He loved pranks.

Fawkes trilled something that sounded like laughter.

* * *

Dumbledore was in for the shock of his life when, in a comparatively pitiful ball of flame, Fawkes appeared, bleeding heavily, and missing a leg, as well as having a small knife with a ring-like handle sticking out of his breast. The phoenix squawked weakly, even as Dumbledore took the scroll he had tied to his neck, and brought the phoenix (rather roughly), to his customary perch.

He then unfurled the scroll, paying little heed to Fawkes as he went through another burning. Had he done so, and he was observant enough, he might have seen a cunning gleam in the bird's eye before he erupted into flames. Instead, he scanned the scroll. He knew Japanese: it was one of the languages he had learned for his role as Supreme Mugwump of the ICW. He read it, sight translating it.

 _Dear Dumbledore,_

 _Oh, dear me, you_ _ **are**_ _careless with the lives of your wizards. I have brought Harry Potter, my son, home, where he belongs. But how thoughtful you were to deliver another wizard to my door, and a werewolf to boot. Mr Lupin will be an excellent test subject, and even now, is cursing your name in the utmost agony. Please, feel free to send more, if you value the lives of your followers so poorly. And please send the bird with them: I had so much fun with a phoenix. I want to have more fun. If you do value your supporters, then consider this your first and final warning: Harry Potter is mine, now and forever. Any further attempt to get him will be as futile at the last, and only serve to stoke the embers of my wrath into an inferno. You have been warned._

 _Orochimaru of the_ Sannin, _the Snake Sage._

 _PS. Should you ever have any contact with Lord Voldemort, please tell him from me that he is a fourth-rate plagiarist._

Dumbledore fumed as he glared down at the paper. As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't spare anyone else to send after Harry Potter. And sending Fawkes alone may not be enough.

As he sat down at his desk, reaching for a lemon sherbet in irritation, he didn't notice that the rather ugly little chick Fawkes had become was sniggering quietly to himself. _Mission accomplished_ , Fawkes thought. _Painful, but it was worth it_.

 **CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Naruto learns about the** ** _Kyuubi_** **and his mother, and Dumbledore gets pranked. Yeehaw!**

 **Anyway, no other comments other than to get straight onto the reviews.** **Outofthisworldgal** **: I do intend to bring Sirius to Konoha. And you've given me a good idea regarding Kakashi and** ** _Icha Icha_** **. Thanks!**

 **The views...they are...(I can't...resist...) OVER 9000!  
**

 **KozuKatDeLuna** **: Harry will go to Hogwarts, but not until a later year (probably year three or four). I want him to go through the stations of canon in Naruto first. And while Dumbledore is contemptible, I'll be avoiding bashing most of the other good characters from the series, including Ron. Fudge, Umbridge, Snape and Draco will still be arseholes, though, and Sirius will need a bit of redemption (he was more on James' side than Lily's), but otherwise, the magical world will be badly flawed, but still good. As for Danzo, I don't know what to do with him, only that it might be different from other fanfics. He won't be a pleasant guy, but he may be less of a villain.**

 **I don't know what you said in your last sentence, and frankly, I don't** ** _want_** **to know.**

 **Jostanos** **: That you will. Hopefully before long.**

 **1\. Do the wizarding photos talk? I'm not sure they do. Only the paintings seem to. I could be wrong.**

 **2\. I put in this conceit that Harry would have known about** ** _Doctor Who_** **in my original version of** ** _Lux in Tenebris Lucet_** **, having probably snuck out of the cupboard to watch a couple of episodes while the Dursleys were away. He probably saw the first episode of** ** _Time and the Rani_** **, the only regeneration episode he reasonably could have seen.**


	11. Chapter 10: The Beast Within

**CHAPTER 10:**

 **THE BEAST WITHIN**

The lives of these four outcasts of Konoha, Remus Lupin, Anko Mitarashi, Naruto Uzumaki, and Harry 'Mitsuki Mitarashi' Potter, had taken a turn, more or less, for the better. It took some time for Harry to accept Lupin fully, but this was partly because of the ministrations of the Dursleys. Between the enthusiastic, if unconventional parenting of Anko Mitarashi, and the gentle, quiet compassion of Remus Lupin, Harry began to open up more. He was still shy, and more than a little introverted, but his eighth birthday was easily the best he had ever had. Quite a few attended the party, surprisingly, besides the strange, loosely-knit family. On the adult's side, there was the Hokage and one of their teachers, Iruka, along with a rather lazy-looking man called Kakashi Hatake. On the children side, a good chunk of the class came along. Harry had, despite his looks, managed to win more than a few, if not friends, then good acquaintances. Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzaka, Chouji Akimichi…hell, even Sasuke Uchiha attended, and the boy was noted for his extreme antisocial behaviour.

Then again, the two had bonded, in a way, when they compared tales of their respective parents' demise, though Harry didn't mention that his biological father was not only alive and well, but one of Konoha's most infamous traitors. A few of the children present knew: Ino had been told by her father, and Shino, Shikamaru, and Sakura worked it out for themselves. They vowed to keep it quiet, though: even Sakura, for all her occasional loudmouthed nature, felt sorry for the boy, and could recognise that Harry detested having the treacherous _Sannin_ for a father. But Sasuke was ignorant. They shared a common goal of getting stronger, and Harry was managing to persuade Sasuke, gradually, that he needn't get stronger for the sake of revenge, but rather for the sake of protecting those he cared about. He also willingly helped Sasuke evade his fangirls.

Even so, as time went on, rumours began to spread throughout the village and its people that Orochimaru's son lived amongst them, and was being schooled with their children alongside the _jinchuriki_ of the _Kyuubi_. Some of these rumours were started and spread by a certain Mizuki, who didn't know that Harry was the son of Orochimaru, but could take a calculated guess on the matter. He spread those rumours out of little more than spite, the same spite that he had towards Naruto.

The Hokage, remembering Ibiki's words, began discreetly disseminating the information that Harry was Orochimaru's son, but he had also gone through a thorough T&I debriefing, complete with Inoichi Yamanaka checking his memories. He also revealed that Harry was an orphan whose prior guardians had mistreated him, and that Remus Lupin was a friend of the family.

This mollified some, but there were others still who couldn't be mollified, who wouldn't be. And resentment and hatred against Harry Potter, or Mitsuki Mitarashi as he was more frequently known, grew until it was at the levels against Naruto.

This wasn't to say that everyone, or even a majority of people hated Harry. Hell, even a majority of people didn't hate Naruto, although they would have preferred to ignore his existence. But a vocal few truly despised them, wanted them erased from existence. Most of the time, they didn't act beyond insults and the occasional kick. A few even detested Remus for being a werewolf, though most thought of him merely as a good man with a bad disease.

But a day was coming that would have tragic consequences: Naruto's own birthday, October 10. The Day of the _Kyuubi_. The day the Fourth Hokage died.

By this point, Remus Lupin had proved his loyalty to the village, and his probationary period was over. He was still being monitored, but he no longer had the death sentence potentially hanging over him, like some great katana of Damocles, had the Ancient Greeks used Japanese swords. He was allowed by the Hokage to adopt Naruto, though Naruto (whom Remus allowed to keep his mother's name) had to sleep at Anko's house when Remus had to transform. Anko didn't mind: Naruto brought Harry out of his shell, and the two occasionally collaborated on pranks, with Naruto being the doer, and Harry being the planner.

Harry was also being taught the basics of magic by Remus. Remus allowed Harry to use his wand, and while the compatibility wasn't great, it allowed Harry to learn some basic Charms and Jinxes. Remus also helped train Harry in wandless magic, and while it was exhausting, it could also help, given that it was doubtful Remus was going to risk bringing Harry to Ollivander's.

Like with Harry's birthday, the same people came to a party held the week before (the Hokage suggested holding it the week before as to avoid the children figuring out the connection between the _Kyuubi_ and Naruto). He got less presents, with most of them coming from the adults (though Harry didn't fail to notice Hinata Hyuuga offering a very nice present). Naruto was pleased when the Hokage gave him a book on _fuinjutsu_ , and vowed to study it religiously.

A week later, though, when the anniversary of the _Kyuubi_ 's attack and vanquishing came around, things went badly indeed.

* * *

The people who occasionally formed mobs to attack Naruto were actually relatively small in number, about twenty at most. But in terms of sheer venom and spite, they made up for hundreds. Willing to kill a child, and not even thinking that killing the boy may in fact release the beast to destroy once more (which it wouldn't, but should have been a not unreasonable fear, even to these idiots), they began to gather.

As luck would have it (bad luck, anyway), Harry and Naruto were at Ichiraku's, with Hinata and Shino in tow. Harry was the bridge that brought Hinata and Naruto closer together, as he got along well enough with the Hyuuga heiress, who was even shyer than he was. She also had a crush on Naruto, and Harry had helped Naruto realise that Hinata wanted to be friends with the ebullient boy.

Shino, meanwhile, was perhaps Harry's best friend out of the class, besides Naruto. As Harry moved away from the crushing influence of the Dursleys, his intelligence began to blossom: not quite at the levels of, say, Shikamaru Nara or Sakura Haruno, or Shino himself. But the two quiet and intelligent boys had more than a few enlightening discussions. It didn't hurt that Harry didn't hate bugs, for Shino Aburame was, like the rest of his clan, a user of the _Kikaichuu_ or chakra parasite insects. Harry found that creepy, but in an interesting way. Of course, being a Parselmouth with the features of Orochimaru didn't help in the creepiness stakes, though Shino actually did have an interest in what snakes said.

Unfortunately, their conversations were interrupted when the quartet were dragged out of Ichiraku's by the small but determined mob. Almost instantly, they began laying into the boy, beating him with a brutal fury.

"Kill the demon!"

"And Orochimaru's spawn! He's next!"

"Stop it!" Hinata screamed, only to get backhanded for her troubles.

Shino and Harry, however, were about to take action. Shino released his insects, while Harry elbowed his captor viciously in the gut, before holding out a hand. "FLIPENDO!" he screamed.

A few of those giving Naruto a beatdown got blasted back, sending them skidding away on their backsides. Harry repeated the process a few times, before his captor viciously began choking him. In response, Harry bit down as hard as he could, and was released.

The confrontation had only lasted for a short while before ANBU came along. The mob, which only had a few shinobi in it, were forced to leave. But Naruto was unconscious, sprawled on the ground. Hinata had a split lip. Harry and Shino had bruises, but were otherwise more or less unharmed. Inu, a familiar 'face' amongst the ANBU (Harry suspected, given the voice and the hair, that behind the mask was the same Kakashi Hatake who had come to the birthday parties), came forward and assessed them. "Take them to the hospital."

* * *

In pain and darkness, Naruto awoke. He got to his feet, seemingly finding himself within a dark, underground passage that was flooded. Perhaps like a sewer, but this was less filthy, and more…abandoned. Neglected. Subject to the predations of entropy and age rather than pestilence and excrement.

Naruto blinked. He had been given Occlumency lessons by Remus, but he had never managed to get the knack of shaping his mental landscape. He hadn't had the patience for meditation, so all he got were glimpses, glimpses of this place. So he knew that this was his mind.

There was a sudden snarl, and Naruto all but leapt to his feet. He looked around, and discerned that the bestial noise had come from one of the passages leading off this one. He walked, rather tentatively, down it.

The chamber he came into was vast, with a massive gate across part of it. Said gate seemed to be sealed by a paper banner. No, Naruto realised…it was _fuinjutsu_.

Then, he sensed another presence behind the gate. A faint, sanguine glow of demonic chakra, of which he could only discern demonic, slit-pupilled eyes and a snarl filled with vicious, sharp teeth. Then, a voice like living thunder, less a voice and more a force of nature speaking, spoke. " ** _Come now, little boy. Don't be shy. Step forward now(_** ** _1)_** ** _._** "

Naruto, almost hypnotised by the sight, did step forward, only to leap back hastily when vicious, wicked claws slammed through the bars of the gate, unable to reach him, but telling a tale of painful dismemberment and death if he got too close. "Whoa!" Naruto yelped.

" ** _Hmmm. Damned bars. That abominable Hokage…this seal…it is too damned good…I cannot be free…free to unleash My wrath on your accursed village!_** "

"Hey, you're the _Kyuubi!_ " Naruto snarled, indignant now that he had gotten over his fright.

" ** _And you are the insect within which My magnificence has been sealed_** ," the _Kyuubi_ rumbled. " ** _My jailor has finally deigned to visit._** "

"Yeah, that's right, _dattebayo!_ " Naruto snapped. "I'm your jailor! You deserve it for killing my mother!"

" ** _Indeed? I can see into your very soul, jailor. There are many outside who believe that you deserve death for My crimes._** " A sardonic chuckle, like the distant rumble of thunder, emanated from behind the bars. " ** _The stupidity of humans never ceases to astonish and amuse Me, even as it angers Me. Your death means My freedom, even if I will be without form for some time. So it always has been for My brethren. So…why not remove the seal? I can grant you a swift, merciful death._** "

"Because you'll kill my friends!" Naruto snapped. "They know about you, and yet, they don't care about me being your jailor! I won't let you kill them."

" ** _Such loyalty_** ," the _Kyuubi_ sneered. " ** _But loyalty is fickle amongst humans._** "

"And what of your brethren? Would any be loyal to you?" Naruto asked, in what was a surprisingly deep question for him.

The _Kyuubi_ suddenly snarled, and once more lashed its claws through the gate. " ** _DAMN YOU, YOU IMPUDENT LITTLE BRAT! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN AN INSECT STINKING OF EXCREMENT! YOU KNOW LITTLE ABOUT US OR OUR LOYALTIES!_** "

Naruto barely flinched at the _Kyuubi_ 's conniption. "Then why don't you tell me about you, huh? If we're stuck together, well, I want to know about you and the other Tailed Beasts. I mean, Lupin's teaching me Occlumency and stuff. He says I can reshape my mental landscape. And I'm sure you don't want to spend it in this dump, though why my mind is like this, I don't know."

" ** _Neither do I, insect_** ," the _Kyuubi_ said, quieting down. " ** _You have a point about the interior design. It is beneath My presence to be imprisoned in this excremental hole._** "

"Hey, this is _my_ mind you're talking about. And what's excrement, anyway?"

" ** _To put it in crude terms that even you would understand, dung, crap, shit. Does that enlighten you?_** " The _Kyuubi_ looked around. " ** _It seems that our time grows short. Remember this, jailor: when your temperament waxes towards fury, My chakra and rage mingles with your own. It will take control of you, and you will not know it, not until you see the blood of your friends on your hands!_** "

"I'll never let that happen!" Naruto said defiantly.

But even as the chamber around him faded, the _Kyuubi_ chuckled. " ** _You cannot stop it from happening. Waking or sleeping, I am with you always(_** ** _2)_** ** _, until My chains are shattered, and I am free._** "

The _Kyuubi_ , however, even as Naruto faded from the chamber, was surprised to hear the boy say, "Well, see if I ever do anything nice for you with an attitude like that."

 _Brat_ , the _Kyuubi_ thought irritably to itself. _You just had to have the final word_.

* * *

The lie was put to the _Kyuubi_ 's assertions when Naruto woke up, surrounded on all sides by concerned faces. Lupin, Anko, the Hokage, Harry, Shino, and Hinata. In fact, he was immediately asking Harry, Shino, and Hinata if they were all right, noticing the split lip on Hinata.

Their relief told Naruto all he wanted to know. He would get stronger, not just to achieve his dream of becoming Hokage, but also to protect those closest to him. That's what he intended to do.

 **CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Naruto has finally met the** ** _Kyuubi_** **, and earlier than in canon. While there are plenty of interesting fics where the** ** _Kyuubi_** **is on relatively good terms with Naruto from this first meeting, I decided to have it a little closer to canon. The** ** _Kyuubi_** **here is still a vicious, destructive entity. Of course, he may end up being more of a partner to Naruto far earlier than in canon.**

 **I decided to give the** ** _Kyuubi_** **more eloquence, and even a vaguely Shakespearean air. I watched a clip of the first time when Naruto meets** ** _Kyuubi_** **, when Jiraiya pushes him down the canyon to force him to use the chakra of the beast. I actually thought that Paul St Peter's voicework was not unlike Benedict Cumberbatch's work for Smaug in** ** _The Hobbit_** **films, so I chose to emulate something of Smaug, as my first numbered annotation will make clear. Smaug and the** ** _Kyuubi_** **have a few things in common, being proud magical beasts of awe-inspiring magical power.** **I also turned up the arrogance somewhat, hence him calling himself 'Me' with a capital M.**

 **While I chose to go with the fanon of mobs attacking Naruto on his birthday (as well as at irregular intervals), I think it's not unreasonable to include this in the story. I've just decided that it's only a relative few who try to actually band together and kill him.**

 **Next chapter: LUNA!**

 **Review-answering time!** **wolfey141** **: Sorry, but it will be a Harry/Luna pairing, eventually.**

 **Outofthisworldgal** **: I think of Sirius and Kakashi as being similar in some regards, but I'd like to think of Sirius being a bit more extroverted and more overtly lecherous, albeit in a self-deprecating way. And Fawkes being so Slytherin? Well, I'm sure that many ninjas would be right at home in Slytherin, for all the right reasons, as cunning and deceit are the stock in trade of a ninja.**

 **1\. This is a modified version of one of Smaug's first lines from** ** _The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug_** **.**

 **2\. This rather ominous line is modified from one of the Black Guardian's lines to Turlough in** ** _Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead_** **, and I thought it suitable for the** ** _Kyuubi_** **.**


	12. Chapter 11: A Touch of Luna-cy

**CHAPTER 11:**

 **A TOUCH OF LUNA-CY**

A couple of years later, after this incident, the Hokage was examining another disturbing report from Jiraiya, who had delivered another report on the activities of the Akatsuki. There were hints that this secretive, elite mercenary organisation, which had once counted Orochimaru amongst its numbers, were interested in _jinchuriki_. But there were others, it seemed, who were interested in the Tailed Beasts: namely, foreigners from the outside world. European mages. Jiraiya had met the couple in question, a man and his daughter, and had, for the moment, pronounced them mostly harmless, though he could not dissuade them from visiting Konoha. He also noted that the girl seemed to be a seer of some sorts, albeit one with something of a mild derangement.

It seemed that, from what Jiraiya could gather, the man was merely an eccentric cryptozoologist, even by the standards of Magical Britain. Apparently, they had already been to Kumo and Taki, and had met three _jinchuriki_. They had even told Jiraiya the names of the _jinchuriki_ , as well as the beasts they held: Yugito Nii and Killer B of Kumo held the Two-Tailed Cat and the Eight-Tailed Ox respectively, while Fuu of Taki held the Seven-Tailed Beetle. While this was an intelligence coup if it could be confirmed (and it certainly tallied with the intelligence they had from Kumo), it also didn't bode well for these people being discreet. If they came here and realised what Naruto was…

And then, there was the added factor of them being mages from Magical Britain. A factor that could expose the presence of Harry Potter in Konoha to Magical Britain in general, and Dumbledore and his allies in particular, not to mention any of Voldemort's followers looking to seek revenge.

Thankfully, he had their names, so while he didn't hold out much hope, he summoned Lupin. Lupin had become a teacher at the academy, and currently worked alongside Iruka, with Mizuki being assigned to another class. Lupin was better at teaching theory, as he wasn't able to use ninjutsu: while magic and chakra could be shaped in similar manners, you couldn't use both unless you were trained from an early age.

Lupin had mixed feelings about children being trained to become soldiers, or at least mercenaries. It was only because he went over every detail not only of the academy's curriculum with a fine-toothed comb, but also about any counselling facilities that they had for shinobi, regardless of age. While satisfied, he was disturbed about one case in particular: Sasuke Uchiha. He managed, after an interminable period of trying, to reach out to the boy.

It turned out that Sasuke had been told by his brother Itachi that to grow stronger, one had to have no weaknesses or attachments. His association with Naruto was mostly on sufferance, and their shared friendship with Harry. It was Harry who managed to actually befriend the boy, with their common ground of having their family murdered.

Lupin managed to get through to him, and pointed out that fighting Itachi as a team was more likely to end in triumph than fighting individually. He laid it out in cold, pragmatic terms that would be more likely to appeal to the sullen Uchiha than any sentimental speech. And it worked. Sasuke didn't warm up completely, but he lost some of his aloofness and cold demeanour.

Not long after Naruto's eighth birthday, Fawkes returned, albeit briefly, with a gift in tow: a recipe for Wolfsbane potion. With the willing help of the Yamanaka's and their stock of various plants, both medicinal and poisonous, Lupin began to brew the potion each month. A difficult and complex one, but with ensuring that he was no longer a danger to others during the full moon as an incentive, he brewed it so well, he was sure that Snape would be impressed, if he could ever deign to be impressed by an ability of Lupin's.

He was also saving his money (Naruto's bottomless pit of a stomach notwithstanding), intending to fund a mission to Azkaban to free Sirius. The Hokage didn't tell him, but they had sent operatives discreetly to Azkaban to scout it out. The Dementors were certainly an obstacle, being invulnerable to not just magic, but most jutsu as well. Not insurmountable, though: Remus, on his request, had managed to formulate ways to turn magic into jutsus, using chakra instead of magic energy. Harry, much to his shock, was able to use his Patronus jutsu after some practice. It turned out to be a massive snake, one which Lupin was certain was a basilisk. Because of its ability to be a messenger, the Hokage was encouraging _chunin_ and _jounin_ to learn how to use it.

They had also learned that there was one, and as far as they knew, only one native-born mage in Konoha. They discovered this purely by accident when said person, while playing with Harry, actually managed to replicate one of his spells. It was later learned that this wasn't done with chakra, but innate magical energy, an ability that came from their mother.

Said person was none other than Hinata Hyuuga.

To say that Hiashi Hyuuga was surprised to find that his daughter and heiress was a mage was an understatement of considerable proportions. So too were the elders who were pressuring him to replace Hinata as heiress. For all of their pride in the _Byakugan_ and the _Juuken_ or Gentle Fist, they were also not stupid: knowing some additional techniques in battle was a boon. It also explained that strange energy they saw with their _Byakugan_. So, providing that Remus Lupin could train her properly, the elders decided to hedge their bets for now.

Lupin's lessons, along with Harry and Naruto's friendship, helped to boost the girl's confidence, and she confided in them about her fears of hurting others. Anko, who had been present, told her bluntly that as long as she did nothing permanent to her sister during spars, she should be fine.

Lupin agreed. He had met Hinata's cousin, Neji, and thought him a vicious, fate-obsessed snob, though, and feared what would happen if the two of them ever met in combat. Neji had a very low opinion of the main branch of the family in general, and Hinata in particular, viewing her as a spoiled princess, when in reality, she was far away from such a thing.

* * *

"I know the Lovegoods," Lupin said, after the Hokage told him what he found out. "Xenophilus is a bit of a nut, but he's harmless. He publishes a tabloid newspaper called _The Quibbler_ , filled with conspiracy theories and the like. Only about ten percent of the things he publishes have any real truth to them, as far as I know. He also has this obsession with cryptolozoology, as you've noticed, though he's sometimes right about what he looks for. His wife, Selene, was a noted spellcrafter, if almost as eccentric as her husband. Rumour has it that she was in the Unspeakables, and liked to bring her work home, so to speak. I don't know much about the daughter, Luna."

"Do you think they pose a danger to Konoha?"

"Deliberately? I doubt it. They've been off Dumbledore and Voldemort's radars during the war. The only reason he'd have any interest in them is that they live not far from the Weasleys, one of his biggest supporters. But inadvertently? Xenophilus and Selene had very unconventional views of what constitutes 'dangerous'. And Xenophilus and Luna have divulged to Jiraiya information I'm sure the other Hidden Villages would rather keep secret. I say, if they come across Naruto, extract a vow on their magic. That should be enough: no mage wants to lose their magic, and Xenophilus is intelligent enough to understand why blabbing about the Tailed Beasts is a bad idea."

Lupin had been briefed on what little they had obtained about the Akatsuki. Being Naruto's guardian meant that he should know. He had proposed an idea that might take some time to come to fruition.

"Then we will have to make sure that we keep an eye on them when they do arrive, Lupin..."

* * *

When the Lovegoods arrived in Konoha one weekend, the Hokage had a couple of ANBU discreetly watching them. The girl, a blonde-haired, pale-eyed little thing, had given the nominally hidden ANBU a cheerful wave and a loud greeting.

The ANBU were understandably bemused by this, not to mention a little annoyed. And alarm grew in their chests when the girl, all but leading her father like some blonde bloodhound, skipped merrily to where Naruto, Harry, Hinata and Shino were playing.

Harry was understandably startled when someone said to him, in English, "Hello, Harry Potter." When he looked up with a start of fright into pale, dreamy eyes, he was bemused when the blonde girl merely cocked her head, and smiled. "You have lovely eyes. I bet they can see wrackspurts."

Before he could say anything, she then turned to Naruto, who was staring bemusedly at the girl. She then lowered her head slightly to his stomach, and said, "Hello, Kurama."

Harry shot Shino and Hinata looks. Naruto had eventually confessed to those two about him containing the _Kyuubi_ , on condition that they keep it secret. Shino and Hinata resolved to do so. They also knew that the seal for the _Kyuubi_ was on Naruto's stomach. So, by 'Kurama', did Luna mean the _Kyuubi?_

Naruto was staring down at Luna in bemusement. _Did…did she just call my stomach Kurama?_

A rumbling sigh from within. Naruto and the _Kyuubi_ had come to something of an arrangement, a détente of sorts. It helped that Naruto had shaped his mindscape to something more to the Kyuubi's liking. **_Imbecile jailor. That mage called Me by My name_**.

 _Wait, what? I didn't know you had a name._

 ** _You never asked. Admittedly, I would not have told you, in all likelihood. You seemed content to call Me 'Fuzzball' or 'Furball' or 'Dumbass Fox', or when you're in an exceedingly good mood,_** **'Kyuubi'.** ** _I believe humans have a crude but apt turn of phrase: If it ain't broke, don't fix it_** **.** A tenebrous chuckle emanated from within.

 _Bite me, Dumbass Fox._

 ** _Thank you for the kind invitation, jailor, but I will have to decline your offer. I do not wish to catch any illnesses from your flesh_**. Once more, the _Kyuubi_ chuckled.

Naruto scowled, and the girl looked at him oddly. "Did Kurama say something to annoy you?"

"Who are you?" Harry demanded. "What do you want?"

"I'm Luna Lovegood. And I want to try _dango_."

That was not the response they had been expecting. Even the Kyuubi, who was listening in through Naruto's senses, was bemused. And summed up the situation in three words only Naruto could hear.

 ** _What. The._** ** _Fuck._**

* * *

The pair of them were escorted to the T&I section, while Lupin and Anko, who were on something of a date while their adopted kids played, were brought in. Anko because she worked in T&I, and Lupin because he knew the Lovegoods, or at least Xenophilus.

It was strange, Ibiki reflected, to know that Anko Mitarashi was dating Remus Lupin. One of the things that tied them together was being outcasts due to events beyond their control. It also reflected in their choices of charges, with Anko being a surprisingly good mother to Harry, and Remus being a good father to Naruto. The werewolf seemed to be a bit of a softie at first, but there was a core of inner strength.

Luna seemed to have no worries, even complimenting (yes, complimenting!) Ibiki on his impressive collection of scars and his endurance to pain that must've led to them…despite the fact that he didn't remove his headscarf until _after_ she commented on them. Xenophilus, however, was understandably nervous. Ibiki didn't have to do more than glare, and let loose some killing intent, and Xenophilus was babbling away. He didn't really need Lupin or Anko here…but they had a pair of mages, and he appreciated having Anko as his backup, and Lupin for the British mage perspective.

"Xenophilus!" Remus yelped when he saw the man sitting in the room, weeping slightly. He turned to Ibiki. "What did you do to him?"

"Gave him a glare and a dose of killing intent. Not my fault he broke so easily," Ibiki said with an unapologetic shrug.

"Is this the guy you said the Hokage told you about? This guy and the girl?" Anko asked.

"I'm Luna Lovegood," the girl said cheerfully, before she pouted. "And you made my daddy cry. He's cried enough lately."

And suddenly, Remus, Anko, and Ibiki were hit with the biggest blast of killing intent they had ever felt…well, at least from a nine year old kid. Just as soon as it was there, however, it was gone. And Luna was back to her sweet, loopy self.

"Can I have _dango?_ " she asked Anko. "You smell of it."

* * *

The interrogation, if you could call it that, didn't take long. They confirmed what the Lovegood's mission was: a self-imposed one to study the Tailed Beasts. The reason for that was more than seeking out knowledge: Lupin discovered, to his horror, that Selene Lovegood had perished in a spellcrafting accident only a couple of months ago, an accident that Luna had the misfortune to witness. They were trying to bury the past by embarking on an expedition for knowledge.

Lupin learned, to his amusement, that the ruse that he had been captured by Orochimaru had worked, and someone had leaked that information to _The Daily Prophet_. Harry Potter was now considered dead, or as good as. And Dumbledore's star was on the wane.

The Lovegoods' mission, while benign, had stirred up something of a hornet's nest. Luna's casual exposure of Harry, as well as outing the _Kyuubi_ 's true name, could be disastrous.

It was Luna who suggested a most unconventional solution: they stay in Konoha. Her only real friend back home was Ginny Weasley, and unfortunately, her family still had strong ties to Dumbledore, though they were wavering with the news of Harry's apparent capture and demise.

Xenophilus needed some persuasion, but to tell the truth, _The Quibbler_ hadn't sold as much as it could have, and he was losing money on it. And the chance to study a _jinchuriki_ , albeit under supervision, was an extra incentive. And there was one very vital reason. Truth be told, he liked to spoil his little girl. Especially now that she was all that he had left of his wife.

So that was the story of how the Lovegoods came to settle in Konoha. And how Harry and his small circle of friends gained a new member. As it turned out, Luna was a rare witch who could use chakra, even if she hadn't used it in the way ninja normally did. Although a year younger than them, she was allowed into their class, where she became known for her weirdness. She had even said something to the Uchiha that made him pale, and then scowl at the girl.

When asked about it, she said, "All I did was say that his brother loved him very much…"

 **CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Now Luna is in Konoha, and now learning to be a** ** _kunoichi!_** **And Kurama's real name has been outed!**

 **Now that I've made the decision for Luna to become a ninja, I find myself at a bit of a loss. I was originally planning for Harry to join Team 8 as a fourth member, but with Luna, I realised that Harry can have a team of his own. And who will be the third member? Well, I would think that to any Naruto fan, the answer would be obvious. In fact, my question is less who will be the third member of Harry's team, and more who will be their sensei.**

 **I regret to say, once more, that I've burnt myself out updating this and other fanfics, so I'll have to take at least a week's break (if not more) from writing fanfic (and this time, I should really stick to it, instead of caving in after a few days). Considering you guys just got 7 chapters out of me in such a short period, well, you haven't got much to complain about.**

 **That being said, I've decided to upgrade this story from 'experimental' to 'standard', as I am enjoying writing it enough that I will probably write more chapters for it, once I've recovered.**

 **I've also got a really funny idea for a new Harry Potter crossover, a series of one-shots involving Luna and…but I can't say anything more. You will experience the madness when I return.**

 **As Scooter from** ** _Borderlands_** **would say, "Shit and meatballs!" This story has breached 11K views. It is, officially, my fourth most popular story, and will probably be the third most popular story once this chapter is posted. In case you're wondering, third and second place belong to two of the stories from the Cetra Heritage Saga (** ** _Harry Gainsborough and the Philosopher's Stone_** **is in third place at just over 12K views, and** ** _Harry Potter and the Cetra Heritage_** **, the first instalment, is at nearly 55K views), while first place belongs to** ** _In Spite of Obstinate Men_** **, which is not far from a whopping 75K views (ironic, as it is one of my less-updated works).**

 **Review-answering time!** **Jostanos** **: No, I'm not. And that** ** _300_** **reference has been done to death, and beyond. Plus, damn you for the mental image of Alfred** ** _Molina in a fucking tutu!_** **As Sasuke from** ** _Naruto: The Abridged Comedy Fandub Spoof Series Show_** **would say, "Curse you, Jostanos. I will get you back, _somehow_."**

 **Thanks for reading, anyway! :)**

 **Outofthisworldgal** **: He wasn't exactly polite in canon. Of course, I'm setting things up for them to be on better terms by the time we come around to the stations of canon.**

 **No numbered annotations for this chapter.**


	13. Chapter 12: A Sirius Operation

**CHAPTER 12:**

 **A SIRIUS OPERATION**

A maxim of shinobi is that, when you can put the blame onto an enemy for the successful results of a mission, do so. Which was why when, not long after Luna came to the village, the Hokage had both Remus and Xenophilus showing them what the masks and robes of Death Eaters looked like. It was decided to modify pre-existing ANBU masks, albeit the blank, 'unassigned' ones that weren't yet decorated for the purposes of ANBU.

It was also that ANBU would be performing this: Lupin had saved up enough to pay for a good chunk of the mission, and the Hokage decided to fund the rest from his own coffers. Although Kakashi Hatake, by this point, had recently retired from ANBU to become a _jounin_ instructor, the Hokage asked that he carry out this mission.

An unusual part of this mission was that they would ask for help from the puppeteers of Suna. Given the lack of missions going their way and thus less money going into their coffers, Suna agreed to send a couple of its best puppeteers to help in exchange for part of the fee. The reason for the puppeteers was that they needed a back-up, in case the Patronus jutsu didn't work. A few in ANBU had tested the new jutsu, and Remus and Xenophilus considered them to be like the magical equivalent.

Just before the mission was to begin, Kakashi was sent to try it out on a Dementor guarding Azkaban. Thankfully, not only did the Patronus work, but it was considerably easier to do, and more powerful than the magical equivalent. Remus didn't know whether this was because Kakashi was good at compartmentalising his emotions, or that the jutsu was more powerful than the spell (something that wasn't always the case: many spells were faster and more powerful than equivalent jutsus), but it mattered little. Operation: You Must Be Sirius (who said shinobi didn't have a sense of humour?) was a go.

The plan was to storm Azkaban, extract Sirius, kill the Death Eaters in the secure wing with him, then leave, all while blowing up the secure wing of Azkaban with just enough explosives to destroy it, but leave the rest of the prison standing. They didn't want to kill the Aurors stationed there in the progress. But they were going to take the Death Eaters' corpses with them, albeit using a _Shunshin_ to get off Azkaban before the explosives went off. That way, it would be seen as a mass Death Eater breakout, when in reality, they were freeing an innocent man, and wiping out some of Voldemort's forces, in the process. Assuming Dumbledore's fears of his return were correct (and both Remus and Xenophilus had to concede that Dumbledore had a point here), they would cripple a small but loyal part of his forces.

* * *

They say no plan survives contact with the enemy, especially in the shinobi world. So it was to the utter astonishment of everyone involved, especially Sirius and the terminally-surprised Death Eaters, that it went off without a hitch, save for one little flaw: Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius' cousin and a woman who was basically an evil, more deranged version of Anko, managed to disappear in the chaos without her death being confirmed.

However, the Aurors on duty and the lower-security prisoners weren't so much as injured when the explosive tags went off. Of course, it took a while for the Dementors to come back to Azkaban: a few had been killed by the Patronus jutsus, and the rest got burnt, as if scalded by steam.

Once he was back to something resembling sanity, Sirius would have a good laugh at it. Rescue, prank, and sheer arse-kicking in its purest form. And what more could he ask for, once he realised that he was not only in the same village as his godson, but his old friend Moony had been the one to finally call for his rescue.

* * *

Sirius had had mixed feelings about Harry when the boy was born. He hated virtually everything that even so much as reeked of Slytherin, and given the boy's extremely pale skin and snake-like eyes, vaguely reminiscent of the man he had helped James blast out of a hotel room window, he had reacted as badly as his friend. It didn't hurt that James had been like a brother to him for so many years, and he hadn't believed Lily's accusations of James using Amortentia on her. He didn't want to believe his friend was capable of such a thing, and in any case, he had believed wholeheartedly that the Amortentia would have only fuelled what was already there.

But while James' acceptance of Harry, such as it was, was very reluctant, Sirius found himself won over by the boy, who was just like any other child. It came to a head when Sirius caught James openly contemplating whether to leave Harry with the Dursleys. Sirius knew enough about Lily's sister to know (or at least believe) that the boy wouldn't last a single night. And so, Sirius demanded that James name him the boy's godfather. He used words to the effect that he would make sure that the boy didn't grow up to be like Voldemort, whom he vaguely resembled, though he resembled the man Lily had slept with, whom she called Orochimaru, even more.

Fat lot of good it did him: he had been bunged up in Azkaban, with the rat nowhere to be found. Until now.

He was subjected to careful interrogation, keeping in mind his fragile mental state. He was surprised to learn that they believed him when he told them about Pettigrew. They kept him in a hospital for some time, helping him rest and recuperate, before finally, a number of familiar faces were let in to see him.

"Moony," he rasped, half in surprise, and half in weary happiness. His eyes flickered over to the blonde-haired man. "Xeno…" And then, he saw eyes he thought he'd never see again: ophidian, golden-green, looking at him from a pale face framed by black hair. "Harry…" He closed his eyes, and began to weep.

* * *

A short time afterwards, Sirius had recovered enough to speak to them properly. Two blondes, along with a couple of dark-haired people, a girl with pearl-like eyes with no pupils, and a boy whose eyes were hidden by dark sunglasses. Lupin cast a translation charm on Sirius, before introducing them. The blonde girl was Luna, Xenophilus' daughter, while the blonde boy was Naruto (" _Think of him like yourself and James combined_ ", Lupin had said). The girl with the pearl-coloured irises was Hinata Hyuuga, while the boy with the dark glasses was Shino Aburame. Lupin also told him that, amongst the people of Konoha, Harry was better known as 'Mitsuki', so that Sirius couldn't get confused. Too much, anyway.

"So…you're my godfather," Harry said, a little uncertainly.

"Yeah," Sirius said. "Great job I've been doing so far, huh?"

Harry did chuckle at that. More than a little ruefully, true, but it was genuine.

"So, where am I?" Sirius asked. "Did you catch the rat? Did you get Peter?"

"To answer your second and third questions, no and no," Lupin said. "When Fawkes brought me here in the first place, he told me you were innocent, but had been left to rot in Azkaban by Dumbledore."

Sirius blinked. "How could he…?"

"Morse code."

"Oh." Sirius blinked. After a moment, he said, "I thought I was a goner, with all those Death Eaters coming for me. And then, that guy who's got more scars than Moody and that crazy purple-haired Bellatrix-clone tell me they were fucking ninja in disguise!"

"Padfoot!" Lupin snapped. "There are children present!"

"It's okay, Moony," Harry said (he had gotten used to calling the werewolf by his first name, or his nickname). "I hear worse from Anko. She just tells me that if she hears words like this coming from my mouth…well, senbon and _dango_ sticks are involved. She gets _very_ descriptive."

* * *

Anko sneezed while cleaning her instruments in the T&I department. When she saw the mucus smeared on once-pristine metal, she swore. "Motherfucker! Okay, who's talking about me behind my back?!"

* * *

"Anko…that's the girl with the purple hair, right? Like cousin Bella, only a bit more sane and a lot less evil?"

"She's also my mother."

If Sirius was drinking something at the moment, he would have done a spit-take. As it was, he did his best goldfish impersonation. Lupin chuckled.

"Who's cousin Bella?" Naruto asked, tilting his head quizzically.

It was Lupin who replied. "I believe the term 'mad, bad, and dangerous to know' applies to her, Naruto. I admit, Anko is like Bellatrix Lestrange, only more sane, and one of the good guys. Bellatrix Lestrange, however, is, to put it delicately, utterly bonkers."

Sirius eventually found his voice again. "Your mother…works in interrogation and torture?" he asked Harry.

Before Harry could say anything, Lupin interjected. "Moving along, you asked where we were. This is the Village Hidden in the Leaves, more often known as Konoha. We're in the Elemental Countries, an isolated series of countries whose main military forces seem to be ninja. Which, by the way, these kids are training to be."

"They're training kids to be soldiers?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"To be ninja." Lupin shrugged. "I'm not that happy about it either, but both Harry and Luna want to do it. Besides, Harry should be trained at least, if he's got Voldemort and Dumbledore coming after him."

Sirius had to concede that point, if nothing else. "But what about his magic?"

"I've been teaching him that," Lupin said. "I can't risk getting a wand for him, obviously, or Dumbledore might track him down, so I'm teaching him wandless magic. I'm proud of him: he used _Flipendo_ to keep back a crowd that was trying to attack Naruto. Of course, ninjutsu aren't that far from spells: they use a similar power source, and often require special gestures to perform. You don't need a wand, though, or any physical focus other than your hands."

Sirius blinked. "What do you mean?"

Harry decided to demonstrate. He went through the handseals, and said, " _Bunshin no Jutsu!_ " Almost immediately, a second image of Harry appeared next to the original.

Sirus whistled. "Is that an illusion, or a solid doppelganger?"

"An illusion," Remus explained. "Though there are solid variations, apparently. I've seen Anko use the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ , the Shadow Clone Technique, which creates solid, independent doppelgangers that can even fight."

Sirius, once more, whistled, impressed. Naruto, however, looked a bit sad. "I can't do the clones. I dunno why."

"Maybe later I could look at you with my _Byakugan_ , Naruto," the pearl-eyed girl, Hinata, said. "Maybe I could find out why."

" _Byakugan?_ " Sirius asked.

"It's an innate ability to see the networks of chakra in the body. She can even see the flow of magic," Lupin said. "That's why her eyes look like that."

"They can see nargles and wrackspurts too," Luna said.

"Uh-huh," Sirius said, humouring the strange girl. "So…I guess clearing my name back home is out of the question? Actually, what am I saying? We need to find Peter to have any hope of doing that. Assuming he's still alive."

"Yes. I saved up money to fund a mission to get your sorry behind out of Azkaban…as well as take out most of the Death Eaters there. Only Bellatrix escaped, apparently," Lupin said.

"Damn," Sirius muttered. "She's one of the worst. I should know, she's my cousin." He sighed gently, before looking at Harry. "What's it like, growing up here?"

"It's good," Harry said, with a shrug. "Much better than at the Dursleys."

"Wait, what?" Sirius yelped.

"The old goat left him there," Remus explained. "Apparently Orochimaru killed them." Everyone here knew of Harry's parentage.

"Orochimaru…that's Harry's…" He faltered upon seeing the look on Harry's face.

"Padfoot…" Lupin said. "Orochimaru is a criminal in these parts. He's the most infamous traitor of this village. He performed a number of obscene experiments, seeking immortality. He's basically Voldemort as a shinobi. So it's best not to mention that outside this room, unless it's to people who do know."

"Oh," Sirius said, his face falling. "The bloody Dursleys, Moony. Petunia hated her sister, hated magic. So why did Dumbledore leave Harry with her?"

"Psychological deconstruction, leading to easier malleability to his own ends," said the boy with the dark glasses, Shino Aburame. "If what Lupin has said about this Dumbledore is true, then he wanted a loyal soldier in Mitsuki."

Sirius snarled, softly. Meanwhile, Naruto looked at Shino. "Are you okay, Shino? You just spoke a lot."

"I am fine," he said.

Naruto then turned to Sirius. "I went through stuff like that too, though Old Man Hokage tried to protect me. But it's mainly because I have a demonic fuzzball sealed in my guts."

Sirius blinked, staring at the blonde boy. Remus explained. "Given that Naruto has taken the initiative and told you, I can now safely tell you. He's a _jinchuriki_ , a sort of human container for a demonic being called a Tailed Beast. Namely, the _Kyuubi no Youko_ , or the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Of course, he isn't the _Kyuubi_ , just its prison."

"Whoa, kid. Why'd they choose you for that?"

"The Fourth Hokage did, the guy who died and the Old Man had to retake his job. And he told the stupid villagers that I should be seen as a hero for keeping the fox back. But too many of those pricks see me as the _Kyuubi_. But you know what? I don't care. I'm gonna still reach for the top, to try and become Hokage. I may have the Kyuubi in me, but I'm gonna protect this village, for my friends' sake, _dattebayo!_ " Naruto thrust a fist into the air.

"Of course, telling someone who isn't in the know, unless they're the Hokage or Naruto himself, carries the death penalty," Lupin said.

"Oh." Sirius blinked. "Oh, Moony, what did you get yourself into?"

"It's not all bad. I've adopted Naruto here, and have been training him in the ways of the Marauder. Harry also has done some training, but even before I came along, Naruto was a master prankster." Lupin gave a grin. "But he was still somewhat crude and refined. Padfoot, may I introduce you to Ninetails and Snakecharmer. You've also met Viper, aka Anko."

"Wait, wait, wait. Not only is that woman Harry's adoptive mother, but she's also a new Marauder?"

"And my girlfriend."

Sirius stared, before sagging back onto the bed. Ninjas, his godson being the child of an evil shinobi, a blonde-haired kid with a demonic fox sealed in his guts, and his most loyal friend dating a woman who was not only like Bellatrix Lestrange, but also a new Marauder. He'd say that he needed a good lie-down, but he was already lying down…

 **CHAPTER 12 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it: Sirius is now in Konoha! A new squad of Marauders are emerging! And I have run out of things to exclaim!**

 **The next few chapters will be about their life in Konoha, before we get to Dumbledore trying to send a Hogwarts letter, and then, after that, the stations of** ** _Naruto_** **canon.**

 **Review-answering time! I've already answered** **Loyaltothelegion** **'s review in correspondence, but I will also answer his points here. Yes, Sai will be the third member of Harry and Luna's cell. Danzo will be putting Sai there in order to keep an eye on them. The sensei will probably be Anko, who has ways and means to make sure she gets put in charge of the team. *cackles***

 **Mangahero18** **: Some stories with bashing, I like, others, I detest. And to be honest, I hated writing Dumbledore as an evil, manipulative bastard. It was way harder than I thought. It was easier to write an evil James Potter than it was to write an evil Dumbledore.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	14. Chapter 13: A Spider and a Fox

**CHAPTER 13:**

 **A SPIDER AND A FOX**

Danzo considered the boy in front of him in ROOT Headquarters. The fools in the village above considered Harry/Mitsuki, Luna, and Hinata to be the only young mages in Konoha. In truth, the arrival of the older mages had only served to confirm something he had already suspected. The boy in front of him had unusual abilities, beyond his ability to manipulate ink and ink-based drawings. And Danzo had now, thanks to some careful talking to the older mages, now confirmed it. This boy had magic.

Danzo smiled grimly to himself, at least inwardly. ROOT was all about suppressing emotion, if not eliminating it outright, and it would not do to show too much emotion in front of his underlings. He now had a means to keep a closer eye on the mages. He mentioned that he knew a potential mage amongst a group of orphans he was sponsoring to be shinobi to Lupin, and asked the werewolf if he could teach him. Lupin agreed.

Danzo would put this boy forward to be vetted by the Hokage. The canny old monkey doubtless suspected that ROOT still existed. He probably only let it go on because it would be useful, thus exposing the old monkey's hypocrisy. Of course, exposing that hypocrisy publicly would be a pyrrhic victory for Danzo: he knew Hiruzen Sarutobi could be truly dangerous when roused, and he might see to destroying ROOT, and destroying Danzo.

Therefore, Danzo preferred to do things subtly, which was why he was putting this boy forward. He would join the academy for its last years, he would be tutored by Lupin and the other mages in magic. The boy would be taught to use his magic, he would inveigle himself with the other magic users, and thus be a good spy. No doubt Sarutobi, and perhaps Anko would cotton on. But this was merely a move on the _shogi_ board, putting a piece into play, but not taking any actual action per se.

He looked at the dark-haired and dark-eyed, handsome boy in front of him, and said, "For this mission, you will be Sai."

"I will be Sai, Lord Danzo," the newly-christened boy said with a bow. "What are my orders?"

Danzo outlined his plans. Then he said, "And Sai? I would suggest refraining from attempting to give any nicknames." Sai, in a misguided attempt to fake social skills, gave people nicknames, but tended to be wide of the mark, often giving insulting nicknames. Danzo sighed inwardly. As much as he extolled the virtues of shinobi being free from emotions, destroying sense of attachment did tend to hamper social skills somewhat, and even patient tutoring didn't always work.

"Would you suggest some then, Lord Danzo?" Sai asked.

Danzo frowned in contemplation. If it helped Sai ingratiate himself with his targets quicker, then he might give some suggestions, ridiculous as the concept was. "For Mitsuki Mitarashi, I would suggest Snake-Speaker. For the Lovegood girl, Moon-Girl. For Hinata Hyuuga, Pearl-Eyes. Also, given that Mitsuki is friends with the _jinchuriki_ , and both Anko and Lupin are seeing each other, I would like you to keep an eye on the Uzumaki boy. Call him Ramen-Boy, if you must use a nickname."

"Yes, Lord Danzo. I appreciate your direction."

* * *

As Danzo predicted, the Hokage and Anko cottoned on fairly quickly that Sai was a plant from ROOT. Anko sent a warning to the elder, saying that she would make sure he needed a wheelchair and not a cane, should Sai harm her adopted son. Danzo had no doubt she could try, but she would fail. He may be getting old, but he had more than a few tricks up his sleeve…or under his bandages.

Sai was, albeit reluctantly, allowed into the classes that Lupin ran for the other mages in Konoha. Lupin pointed out that being taught magic was to a degree necessary, lest the person's magic eventually run out of control. He was told of Sai's status, and Harry and Hinata were as well. Luna didn't need to be warned. She seemed to know it already.

Sai was pleased that Danzo's nickname suggestions seemed to work. While the three other young mages were still wary of him, they still seemed to view him as a comrade. And they were all interested in his ink techniques. Sai was interested to learn that Harry could actually use Parseltongue on the snakes he drew. It would be good to use that technique in battle with Harry by his side, though he would have to avoid using them should he have to fight Harry.

He thought of Harry as Harry more than Mitsuki. There was something familiar about the name. Something familiar about Harry himself. Like he was looking into a mirror. He didn't know why, and dismissed the thought as unhelpful.

* * *

Naruto, meanwhile, was still having trouble at the academy with his _Bunshin no Jutsu_ , his clones. Harry, as his friend, decided that action needed to be taken, so he consulted his mother on the matter.

Anko considered the problem. Hinata had already looked at Naruto with her _Byakugan_ and realised that he had too much chakra, so it was decided, at least for the moment, to try and get Naruto onto basic chakra control exercises. But that hadn't improved the quality of his clones by any means, and given that clones were part of the standard graduation test, Naruto was in potentially a lot of trouble.

That being said, Anko knew that the clone was a type of _genjutsu_ , and that there were other clones that were ninjutsu. After Harry's latest appeal on behalf of his friend, Anko asked the Hokage for permission to teach Naruto a more sophisticated clone technique. With his massive reserves of chakra, he could potentially pull off a _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ with little effort, once he learned how to make the Shadow Clones.

The Hokage acceded, but told Anko to warn Naruto against using it for pranks: he was already infamous, and Lupin and Sirius had become both good and bad influences. Hiruzen Sarutobi had to concede the fact that, under the former Marauders' tuition, Naruto had learned how not to get caught, and was even capable of surprisingly subtle pranks. And pranking in a good way was actually good practise for ninja, particularly for sabotage and psychological warfare ops.

What the Hokage and Anko didn't know was that Naruto had a plan. As time went by, his relationship with his tenant had improved, until it was more along the lines of snarky bickering rather than the _Kyuubi_ threatening to eat him and destroy the village. Harry, Luna, Anko and Remus talked to the Nine-Tailed Fox, albeit with Naruto as a go-between. Once you got past Kurama's ego and anger (he still didn't like being addressed as such, as he claimed they hadn't earned the privilege, though he tolerated Luna calling him that: she was in a class of her own), he proved to be an interesting conversationalist.

He got on well enough with Luna when she asked questions about the other Tailed Beasts. He confirmed what she and her father had learned through research. He also said that it had been an Uchiha who had freed him while Naruto's mother was giving birth to him. In fact, Naruto was told to tell the Hokage that it had felt like the control of Madara Uchiha, but he had been influencing another Uchiha. The Hokage had asked Naruto whether Kurama was correct, and had been told by Naruto that the _Kyuubi_ said to say, " ** _Of course I am correct, you antediluvian monkey! That damned snake you once had as a student (and you did such a superlative job, incidentally) is far from the only foolish mortal obsessed with cheating the Reaper out of his due! The Uchiha who controlled Me may not have been Madara, but he stank of his power like the most odious of excrement!_** "

If nothing else, the Hokage was impressed with the _Kyuubi_ 's vocabulary. It knew how to express its anger and hatred with quite poetic wording.

Naruto also surprised him by saying he knew about Akatsuki. Luna and Xenophilus had run into the group briefly during their journeys, namely meeting Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, something they had mentioned during their initial interrogation. Naruto, at the time, actually asked for permission to contact the _jinchuriki_ of Taki and Kumo.

The Hokage considered it. For all their cooling of relations between Kumo and Konoha after the attempted kidnapping of Hinata Hyuuga, relations weren't quite as bad as they were with Iwa. After some initial negotiations to share intelligence on Akatsuki with Kumo and Taki, the Hokage was more open to the idea. Both Kumo and Taki, upon learning that Konoha knew about their jinchuriki and didn't intend to steal them, were also open.

It was decided, to protect Naruto's identity, and to help defend the identities of the other _jinchuriki_ , that they would communicate under aliases relating to their Tailed Beasts. Naruto would communicate using the number 9 as an alias. Yugito Nii would be 2. Killer B would be 8. And Fuu would be 7.

Killer B proved to be perhaps Naruto's best and most friendly correspondent. Of all the _jinchuriki_ , he was probably best adjusted, despite his tendency to rap, something that he put even into his letters. But he also gave Naruto some advice in dealing with his tenant.

Yugito was somewhat haughty, but she offered Naruto a few tips on techniques he could use while drawing upon the _Kyuubi_ 's chakra. Fuu spoke to Naruto on his level: she wasn't much older than he was. However, she also said that she got on well with her tenant, and Taki was considering allowing her to visit Konoha, as long as the Hokage could assure that he wouldn't try to snatch her, or that factions like Danzo's wouldn't try.

Anyway, Naruto soon got the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ down. And then, while only Harry and Luna were watching, one of Naruto's clones seemed to seize up. His eyes turned blood-red, the whisker-like birthmarks on his cheeks darkened, and his facial features turned into a rather nasty smirk. His voice was now deep and tenebrous, too deep and low to come from Naruto's mouth.

" ** _Ah, yes. Bow down before Me, mortals, for I am…_** " Kurama's speech, whatever it was going to be, was cut off when Luna skipped forward and gave him a hug. He looked down at the blonde, and asked, " ** _What in the name of the Sage of the Six Paths are you doing?_** "

"I'm giving you a hug," Luna said.

" ** _That much is obvious. Why are you giving Me a hug?_** "

"Oh. You should have just said so. I'm giving you a hug because I don't think you've been given many hugs," Luna said.

"… ** _I am the_** **Kyuubi no Youko.** ** _A single lash of My tails turns mountains into dust. My merest roar can turn a village into the smallest of splinters. And I am NOT a damned stuffed TOY!_** "

"Do you actually hate the hug?"

After a moment of silence, Kurama admitted, quietly, "… ** _No._** "

"Then I'll continue. There aren't enough hugs in the world."

Naruto, of course, was struggling to hold in his laughter, while Harry was just standing there, goggling at the surreal sight of Luna hugging a Shadow Clone being controlled by one of the most powerful entities in the world.

And then, Sirius, Xenophilus, Anko and Remus arrived. And, of course, it went a little pear-shaped from there.

* * *

"How could you do something so reckless?!" Anko snarled.

"This IS Naruto we're talking about," Remus sighed, trying to calm his lover down. "He makes Padfoot and Moony look restrained by comparison."

"Hey!" Sirius retorted. "I resemble that remark!"

" ** _As amusing as your inane bickering is, I am not…_** " But Kurama was interrupted by Anko.

" _You_ , I'll get around to!" she snapped, pointing a finger at him as if chiding a child rather than an ancient, demonic entity.

" ** _Really?_** " Kurama said, arching an eyebrow. " ** _You're really pointing a finger at_** **Me,** ** _the_** **Kyuubi no Youko?** "

Anko blinked, then looked at the offending digit, before she pointed it back at Naruto. She didn't miss the _Kyuubi_ 's snide " ** _Much better._** "

As Anko continued to chastise Naruto, Xenophilus approached Kurama. "Umm, Mr _Kyuubi_ , sir…"

Kurama sighed. " ** _Yes? What is it that you want, mortal?_** "

"Ummm, well, you are one of the Tailed Beasts, and I came to these lands to learn more about you, so…if you are capable and willing of doing so…umm…"

" ** _Spit it out, mortal. If it is an autograph you desire, then you shall not get one._** "

"Oh, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to interview you."

" ** _You…want to interview Me._** " Kurama stared incredulously at Xenophilus. Eventually, the Tailed Beast began to laugh, the sound having the air of a mirth-filled avalanche. Anko, who was in the middle of threatening Naruto with some senbon in some very painful places, turned to face the _Kyuubi_ somewhat startled, who walked up to her and jabbed a thumb back at Xenophilus Lovegood. " ** _People have cursed My name, soiled their raiment at the merest hint of My presence, and have tried to control Me, seal Me, or generally be most unpleasant, much to My infinite annoyance. But to be asked for an interview is very much a novel experience._** "

Xenophilus blinked, before asking, tentatively, "Is that a yes or a no?"

" ** _Yes, I shall deign to be interviewed by you_** ," Kurama said with a sigh.

* * *

Anko had soon managed to calm herself down, but she still sent word to the Hokage. Who arrived surprisingly quickly for an old man. He waited, albeit with trepidation, as Kurama was interviewed by Xenophilus Lovegood, a surreal experience to say the least. Eventually, Xenophilus finished up, for now, and the _Kyuubi_ turned to the Hokage with a sigh. " ** _In response to your inevitable and tiresome inquiries, old monkey_** ," Kurama said, " ** _no, I am not inhabiting this Shadow Clone. I am controlling it through but the most minuscule infusions of My chakra. It would make it more durable, but a few strong hits or a fatal attack would disperse it._** " As the Hokage opened his mouth to say something else, Kurama interrupted him. " ** _And My intentions are fairly simple. I want to be able to experience the outside world more directly._** " He examined his hands. " ** _Admittedly, I am not used to a human body, but I can live with that._** "

"And revenge?" the Hokage asked.

Kurama emitted a deep, dark chuckle that shouldn't have come from the throat of Naruto, even a Shadow Clone. " ** _Of course you would be concerned. I will put it bluntly to you, Hiruzen Sarutobi: only three people that I can think of should fear the full force of My wrath. One is your immediate predecessor and successor, Minato Namikaze, but he is beyond even My reach, fighting forever with half of Me within the bowels of the Reaper. The second, Madara Uchiha, will rue the day he thought I, the_** **Kyuubi no Youko** , **_was his mongrel cur, to do his bidding. The third will be your former student, the one who sired Harry Potter. Orochimaru shall wish for a death that will be a long time coming. As for the villagers…_** " He emitted another chuckle. " ** _I would find it more entertaining to see them suffer under a reign of terror, including you. These two mages, the Cur and the Wolf, have given Me something I thought it would have been impossible for any mortal._** " He leaned forward, confidentially, and said, " ** _Enlightenment._** "

Sirius blinked, not sure whether he should rebuke the ancient demonic entity for calling him a 'cur', before he realised what the _Kyuubi_ meant. "You don't mean…you want to pull pranks?"

" ** _I am ancient, powerful, and yet made impotent by incarceration within a ten-year old boy_** ," Kurama said with a shrug. " ** _There is little levity in such a state. The tedium of doing paperwork is nothing compared to My plight, no matter how richly deserved you may think it is. I will restrict My revenge to pranks that do not injure the body…much, and to the deserving. The Cur and the Wolf are experts, and it is one of the few times I shall concede that a human has more experience than I. Do not fret, Hiruzen Sarutobi. I will not cause TOO much discord…_** "

The _Kyuubi_ 's rather too-wide grin wasn't really reassuring. The Hokage had to wonder whether Kurama, causing pranks in a Shadow Clone, was still trying to kill him through paperwork…

 **CHAPTER 13 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, some foreshadowing of the future. Sai seeming to find Harry familiar will be important in the future, as is the fact that he has magic. I had this idea occur to me as I was writing this chapter regarding Sai, and I hope to be able to continue it. I'm also writing Danzo as probably lighter than he is in canon, albeit still fairly dark. He's still selfish, thinks his interests equate to Konoha's, and is a cruel man. But he's a pragmatist, a patriot, and subtle.**

 **Also, I thought of Kurama controlling (but not quite inhabiting) the Shadow Clone. Probably has been done before in fanfic, but I can't think of any. I wanted to make him more of a character. Don't get me wrong, if he does get free, he will still be destructive and pissed. But three years of contact with Naruto and the others have mellowed him a little, and while he still has a vicious attitude and a high opinion of himself, he's less likely to turn on Naruto or the others, though he enjoys annoying people.**

 **No numbered annotations this time. And thanks for all the reviews, people.**


	15. Chapter 14: The New Marauders

**CHAPTER 14:**

 **THE NEW MARAUDERS**

With Kurama added to their ranks, the Marauders now truly had a full complement. Snakecharmer, Ninetails, Viper, Padfoot, Moony, and Kurama, who was christened (as Naruto had already been christened Ninetails) with the _nom de guerre_ of Stringpuller (given how he puppeteered Naruto's Shadow Clones). Six Marauders rather than the four back in Hogwarts.

Harry, Lupin, and Kurama were the brains of the group. Harry and Lupin were also the voices of reason, the brakes, so to speak. Sirius, Anko, Naruto and Kurama were the doers, although Anko was also in charge of damage control, as she knew the village better than anyone, and so knew who to piss off, and who not to.

Luna, Sai, and Hinata sometimes joined in, with Anko calling them 'special consultants', a title she also bestowed upon Kakashi Hatake, who by now had left ANBU, and was now, theoretically, an instructor for _genin_ teams. In truth, he had yet to pass a single team, though this was due to his high standards and his requirements of teamwork. Kakashi was lazy, but he also had much of the gadfly and the prankster about him, and he often helped them in planning some of the more audacious pranks. He was also there to make sure they didn't go too far. He was, unofficially, meant to keep an eye on Kurama for the Hokage, whose hijacking of Naruto's clone was known only to this little circle, as well as the Hokage and Danzo.

The first meeting between Danzo and Kurama (who had, in a Shadow Clone he had hijacked, managed to infiltrate ROOT HQ) ended with Kurama flipping the old man off and the normally stoic Danzo having to hold onto his laughter before he could end up somewhere private and out of sight of his minions. So not a complete disaster, then. In a perverse way, Kurama's irreverence and skill at infiltration had won them the old spider as an ally of sorts on the village council, and a powerful one at that. The fact that Danzo took some small perverse glee in the paperwork the pranks generated for the Hokage helped, though Anko and Remus did help keep that to a minimum. And Danzo, along with the Hokage and Kakashi, pointed out that successful pranking was not unlike infiltration and sabotage missions, so it was good practise for being shinobi.

Cold comfort to their victims. If anything, that made the victims of the New Marauders even more pissed off.

However, they also came in demand from certain corners of the village, people who wanted to discourage other people from doing things. And surprisingly, one of their frequent 'clients' was none other than Sasuke Uchiha. Whenever the crowding of his fangirls got too much to bear, he approached Anko or Sirius to work on means of discouraging them. This stemmed from the Great Spider Incident that hit both Sakura and Ino.

Sakura and Ino eventually decided to use the Marauders' own services to discourage other fangirls. And frankly, Sakura and Ino were amongst the better fangirls. As oblivious as they were to the fact that Sasuke wanted nothing to do with them, they at least worked hard enough at being _kunoichi_ , especially once Anko gave them the drill. Instead of dieting, they should just train more. And at least Sakura and Ino were on decent enough terms with Harry, and thus with Naruto, though they found the latter annoying.

Harry found himself liking Kakashi. True, the man was somewhat lazy, and tended to read the _Icha Icha_ books publicly. But he had a cheerful demeanour that appealed to the boy. And he could see that this was one of the masks the man wore. After all, not all masks are physical.

Kakashi once told him, in a moment of frankness, that he saw a bit of himself in Harry: someone who had to fight to prevent the sins of the father from coming down to the son, though for Kakashi, his father's sins weren't as bad as some people thought. Another reason he watched them and sometimes participated in the pranks was that he was observing some promising potential students. It would be nearly two years before he would get any of those present as part of a _genin_ team, but he hoped that they'd work out.

In actual fact, some of the _jounin_ who worked as instructors were looking at the various classes coming up for potential graduation soon, and wondering which ones they would take. Might Guy had his eye on at least one student who strongly resembled him (astonishingly, if they were related, it was distant enough that they couldn't find the link through family trees), Rock Lee, who couldn't mould chakra in the right way to perform ninjutsu or _genjutsu_ , but who was something of a _taijutsu_ prodigy in the making. There were a couple of other promising prodigies in that year, namely the skilled arsehole Hyuuga prodigy Neji, and weapons specialist Tenten.

Kakashi, however, didn't like Kurama. Understandably, the first reason was that Kurama had killed his teacher, the Fourth Hokage. The second reason was that Kurama boldly claimed that the man who had released him from Kushina Uzumaki in the first place was none other than Kakashi's former teammate, Obito Uchiha. Kakashi had trouble believing this because one, he thought Obito dead, and two, thought even if Obito was still alive, he would never have betrayed the village like that. Heated words were exchanged, and only a threat by Anko to put some senbon into some very painful and private places on both of them stopped that argument. Kakashi was mollified somewhat when Kurama admitted that Obito did stink of Madara Uchiha, and had used the same technique. It either meant that his comrade and friend had either been corrupted by the infamous Uchiha, or else was being controlled. He found that easier to believe than Obito turning traitor without any apparent reason. But even that was a stretch.

Actually, Hinata were perhaps the one outside the New Marauders who was on the best terms with the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. And truth be told, Kurama got along best with her, along with Harry, anyway. Luna, he found more than a little weird, Naruto and Anko, he traded insults with, albeit on a semi-affectionate basis, and he was more of a 'drinking buddy' so to speak, with Sirius. But Harry and Hinata actually made an effort to try and be friends with the Tailed Beast, and while Kurama felt this beneath him, he secretly appreciated the sentiment. They feared him, to be sure, but they also made an effort to reach out to him in spite of that. Well, pretty much all of the New Marauders did, but they did it most.

Hinata was also steadily growing in confidence. Though she was still shy and had an occasional stutter, especially around Naruto, she had improved significantly. And in spars, she now showed her true mettle. Hiashi was now more concerned with trying to make sure she had the same reserved nature as most of the Hyuugas, but that was a relatively minor concern: the elders were off his back, or at least more willing to see Hinata as a potential heir. Of course, there were some in both the main family and the branch family who still viewed her with contempt. In the latter, one of her most vocal opponents was Neji, who still blamed her for the demise of his father, and considered her a spoiled princess at best. Thankfully, most in the branch family didn't see it that way, as she was one of those who went out of her way to be nice to them, and they knew it. Neji and his followers in the branch family viewed it as condescension rather than empathy. Which was why he was a frequent target of Naruto's pranks.

Harry, meanwhile, was still viewed with some suspicion throughout the village, for being the son of Orochimaru. However, he was also becoming known for his skill. While not a physical powerhouse, he had adapted the Snake Style _taijutsu_ of his biological father and adoptive mother, and had blended it with ninjutsu, wandless magic, and _genjutsu_. He proved scarily adept at the latter, despite his reluctance to use it, as he didn't like to hurt people through their mind and emotions (or at all, for that matter, but he was horrified at his adeptness at using _genjutsu_ ).

It was doubtful, then, that he'd ever follow his mother into T&I, although she did teach him some interrogation techniques, in case they needed to be used in the field as it were. She also taught him many of the weak points of the body, a useful thing to know in combat. And whenever Harry fought in spars at the academy, he fought quickly and efficiently. Despite a lack of physical strength, his skill meant that he was in the top five _taijutsu_ users in their year, and certainly in the top three of _genjutsu_ users. With his ninjutsu, his main strength was his ability, like Naruto, to use them in unconventional ways, but he was less noteworthy than some who had family jutsus and the like.

* * *

In his office, the Hokage, whenever he wanted to distract himself from the scourge of paperwork, began pencilling in tentative _genin_ teams. With Naruto mastering the Shadow Clone, his placement onto a team was assured. Of course, it would be two years before he was eligible for the graduation exam, along with the rest of the class, but he could do so.

The council were pushing for Kakashi Hatake to train Sasuke. They had a point: the boy was the last Uchiha in the village, and it wouldn't be long before he awakened his Sharingan. And the only other user in the village was Kakashi. The Hokage thought it a sound reason, but there was also another: the boy isolated himself from his peers, and had a certain arrogance that many of the Uchiha seemed to have. Admittedly, Harry Potter, or Mitsuki Mitarashi, however you wanted to look at it, had helped draw the boy out of his shell, so that he was less averse to the idea of teamwork, but Sasuke still had an attitude problem, and hopefully Kakashi would be able to correct that. Kakashi wanted to train Naruto, as a means of fulfilling a debt he had to his sensei, Naruto's father, Minato Namikaze. That was already two-thirds of a team. Given her theory grades, Sakura Haruno would probably be the last member.

There was also the possibility of another Ino-Shika-Cho team that year. A capture and interrogation unit, given the skillset. There was some merit in putting Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzaka into a team. All of them had skills that meant they could track adversaries. Of course, any teachers for those were tentative. He needed someone open-minded for Hinata, as she had magic, and mages, to a degree, did arouse a certain mistrust in some corners.

Speaking of magic, he had another tentative team. Harry, Sai, and Luna. Luna was young, true, but she had taken to ninja training quite well, and was in the same classes as the others. The three mages also, like Kakashi's tentative team, had a variety of skills besides magic that could help them. Their versatility would be a great boon, and the Hokage had to confess that Danzo's plant was a good idea. As long as the old spider who used to be his friend didn't do anything more than keep an eye on Harry, then he'd be fine with it.

Speaking of Harry, the Hokage was surprised that they hadn't found more sign of his father, Orochimaru. Both Jiraiya and Danzo hadn't found much of a sign of the infamous _Sannin_. It was thought that Orochimaru simply didn't know where his son was, and was devoting his time to more profitable pursuits than tracking him down.

However, the truth was very different.

* * *

Orochimaru smirked as he got the latest report from his agent, Kabuto Yakushi. It was only thanks to Kabuto that he found out about his son. Admittedly, this was because Kabuto had seen him only from a distance and heard the rumours, but there was no mistaking who Mitsuki was. The fact that his own former student Anko was raising him was another delicious irony.

However, there was the question of what to do about him. If only he hadn't chosen to speak to Jiraiya in English back at the inn in Tea Country, the boy would have come with him. He might have even become a new vessel by now, for Orochimaru had now started to possess new bodies.

Of course, his biggest target was Sasuke Uchiha, once he awakened the _Sharingan_ , though he'd probably have to wait a couple of years for that. But he also wanted Mitsuki back by his side as another potential vessel, with all that magic.

But how could he get his hands on Mitsuki?

Orochimaru began formulating a plan. He wouldn't be surprised if his old teacher thought there were spies of his within Konoha. But one way to make Mitsuki's position untenable…was to attack his adoptive mother. What better way to do so than to make out that she was his mole within Konoha? The seeds of suspicion were already there. All that was needed was to make them grow…

 **CHAPTER 14 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you go. This chapter was meant to be more of an interlude between parts of the plot.**

 **Now, in case you're wondering why Orochimaru is taking until now to make his move, he was mostly busy building his powerbase in Oto. Harry was a lower priority to him, and it was only because Kabuto mentioned rumours that Harry was Orochimaru's son that he thought "Ah! So that's where he was!" His main priority is basically corrupting Sasuke so he can get the Sharingan, but now he knows Harry is in Konoha, he's probably going to take action, albeit to obtain Mitsuki. Of course, things aren't going to go according to plan: let's just say that Dumbledore decides to take action against Harry at the same time. How, I dunno, so it'll probably be a while before the next chapter. Sorry.**

 **No numbered annotations again.**


	16. Chapter 15: Abduction

**CHAPTER 15:**

 **ABDUCTION**

"You know why we have called you here?"

Anko Mitarashi glared at Danzo Shimura. She had been called to a secret meeting with the old spider and the Hokage at the Hokage Tower, with Inoichi Yamanaka standing nearby. She'd be deaf, dumb, and blind if she didn't know why. Xenophilus and Sirius were babysitting Mitsuki, Naruto, and Hinata along with Luna, while Lupin studied in the library late. "You believe those rumours, don't you?"

Danzo snorted, a rare overt and involuntary display of emotion from the man. "Anko Mitarashi, please give me some credit. While it is my job to listen to rumours and whispers, I also have a brain, just as much as I am assured you have."

"Danzo," the Hokage rebuked quietly. His eyes roved over to Anko. "My only concern is that Inoichi uses his techniques on you, merely as confirmation. I truly believe that the rumours are false, and so does Danzo. Unfortunately, many of the villagers, as well as those shinobi suspicious of Harry, believe otherwise."

"Fine," she said. "But don't fuck around in there. Just do what you have to do, Inoichi."

Inoichi nodded. The Hokage looked on as their eyes met, and Inoichi dived into Anko's mind. Several minutes passed, before the two returned to normal. "She's as clean as I can ever see, Hokage-sama," Inoichi reported. "Unless there's conditioning buried really deeply, she's not the traitor the rumours make her out to be."

"I knew it," the Hokage sighed. "But even if we release this, the rumour-mongers will continue their work unabated, trying different tacks. I'm sure they will say that Inoichi has been subverted."

"Idiots," Anko sneered.

"I couldn't agree more," Danzo said. The heavily-bandaged man rapped his fingers on the table pensively. "Unfortunately, the human race in general, and this village in particular, is full of them. Orochimaru or someone in the know is engaging in information warfare. I have reason to believe that he is trying to make his son's position in this village fragile by attacking your reputation."

Anko sneered again. The rumours weren't really anything new, just refurbished and more venomous versions of the same rumours she had endured before, only with the addition of Mitsuki being the offspring between herself and Orochimaru. Then again, considering what sort of person Mitsuki had turned out to be, she would have been flattered, even honoured, to have him as her own biological offspring, even if he was the spawn of Orochimaru.

"And what are you guys going to do about it?"

"We need to lure the traitors out of hiding," the Hokage said. "Therefore, we're thinking of staging a defection. A risky venture to be sure, but…"

His words were interrupted when suddenly, with a whiplash crack of air, a man appeared, sprawling on the floor, clutching a wailing bundle. The ANBU around the office came out of hiding, weapons ready, only to realise that the man was no threat. For one thing, they knew it was Xenophilus Lovegood, clutching a sobbing Luna to him. For another, he was covered in vicious slash wounds, like the claw marks of some gigantic vicious monster, and every one of them was bleeding heavily. He was within seconds of death.

"Lovegood! What's the meaning of this? What's wrong?!" the Hokage demanded.

"…Snape…" Lovegood managed to rasp, before a wet gurgle emanated from his throat. He convulsed briefly, and then was still forever.

Anko's eyes widened, even as Luna began wailing for her father again. "Shit!" she snarled, surging to her feet. "That's the name of one of Dumbledore's wizard lackeys that Lupin told me about! He must be here for Mitsuki!"

"ANBU! Go there at once! And try to capture him alive for interrogation!" the Hokage barked. "Keep an eye out for jutsu-like techniques cast from a wooden stick like Lupin, Black, and Lovegood!"

"Would Orochimaru have teamed up with these wizards?" Danzo asked.

"Unlikely," Inoichi said.

"Never mind about that!" Anko snarled. "My son is in danger!" She used a _Shunshin_ to leave the Hokage's office.

* * *

 _A few minutes earlier_ …

Severus Snape was not a pleasant man, to put it mildly. In truth, he was a spiteful, vindictive man, caught between two masters he didn't want to serve. Voldemort had branded him physically, and Dumbledore had branded him mentally. Only the thought of causing as much pain to Lily's crotchspawn as he could appealed to him much anymore.

Lily had destroyed what love he had for her, though an objective observer would have observed that he killed off her love for him by calling her a Mudblood. But Snape, like all true bullies, can never see his own fault in the matter, and he was obsessed with making Lily his own, by any means necessary. The fact that she had apparently had offspring with that Orochimaru instead of even trying to remain faithful to Potter (galling though that thought was) only proved that she had betrayed their friendship utterly.

So when Dumbledore, acutely aware that Harry was close to the age where he needed to attend Hogwarts and thus needing to be brought back into the fold (if only to become a scapegoat for his appearance), needed someone to fetch him, he opted for Snape. Shortly before they used Fawkes, they both attempted Legilimency on the bird, to confirm where Harry was. Using Legilimency on an animal was usually a bad idea, but they needed to see if they could find out anything about Orochimaru's defences.

What they found there made them want to kill Fawkes, repeatedly. He was a phoenix, after all, and both of them thought of some very unpleasant methods. But because it would take time for him to grow back into maturity, time they didn't have, they settled for hitting the phoenix with every compulsion and control spell in the book, along with a few potions of Snape's creation. On top of that, Dumbledore lent Snape the Invisibility Cloak that had once belonged to James Potter. A Translation Charm finished the ensemble.

Snape's main objective was simple: Snatch Harry Potter from Konoha. If Lupin or anyone else got in the way, kill them. Snape was actually itching to use Fiendfyre on the shinobi town, and raze most of it to the ground. If that happened, then it meant there'd be fewer pursuers, if at all. They'd be all too busy trying to stop the blaze. Or dying horribly. The latter gave him a particularly enjoyable image.

Fawkes, now firmly under their control, brought Snape into existence some way away from Konoha. Snape donned the Cloak, keeping the damned bird under it, stuffed under his robe. He grinned viciously as he thought of James Potter turning in his grave at Snape using his most prized possession.

With the Cloak, and some judiciously-applied spells to get himself over the wall, he was in Konoha, and was using the Four-Point Spell to find Harry(1). He soon found the right house, and could hear the sound of children laughing, presumably playing in the evening. He detested that sound. Children enjoying themselves…they had no right to. Childhood was just a big lie that they should never be allowed to lose themselves in. All the dreams and happiness you had…they were false. The sooner such illusions were torn away, the better.

They were in the backyard of the house, playing. Snape carefully climbed onto the wall, and observed the situation for a moment. There was Lupin, the wolf who should have been put down long ago. He was astonished and enraged to find Sirius Black there, and very nearly leapt down then and there. He was also surprised to see Xenophilus Lovegood and his insane brood there.

He noted the other children present. One had to be Harry, with the dark hair, pale skin, and snake-like eyes. Another he recognised from Fawkes' memories as Naruto, a blonde, loudmouthed brat. The third present was a girl with strange, pearl-coloured irises and no pupils that made her look like she had cataracts…but she was using magic, judging by the way she used a Tickling Hex on Naruto. Harry called her Hinata.

How to do this?

While he contemplated this, the blonde-haired boy, who had gotten off the ground, suddenly tensed…before throwing a knife with ring-like handle right at Snape. It buried itself in Fawke's breast, who, with a squawk of pain, ignited.

Hurriedly, Snape whipped the Cloak off, and stripped off the outer layer of his robes, removing the burning bird and using the Aguamenti Charm to douse the fire. As he did so, he heard Black yelp incredulously, "Snivellous?! What the hell are you doing here, Snape?!"

Oh, how he _hated_ that name. Snape knew he needed a distraction. He pointed his wand at the house, and snarled, "FIENDFYRE!" He didn't bother to control the blaze as it began to devour the inside of the house. Let it all burn.

As Sirius and Lupin gaped at him in shock, Snape decided to follow that up with a curse of his own creation. Targeting the werewolf, who should have been put down like the rabid animal that he was long ago, he slashed his wand in the air repeatedly, yelling, "SECTUMSEMPRA!"

But by the time the curse struck home, something else had happened. The Lovegood girl, presumably trying to save whatever pathetic possessions she had, had run in front of Lupin. And Xenophilus was diving at her to try and hold her back. It was Xenophilus who bore the brunt of the curse, massive slash wounds opening up all over his body.

As the two stared in horror, Snape used a Summoning charm to bring Harry to him, hitting him to knock him out, before snatching up the Invisibility Cloak and covering himself with it, and fleeing. He may not be able to use Fawkes to flee, but that meant little. He could make a Portkey out of something, once he had enough time to settle. He should have made one earlier, but there was plenty of time to deal with that once he was out of Konoha. And Apparating blindly might not get him anywhere. He might not be able to get back to Hogwarts, considering it was in another world.

"Get back here!" screamed a voice. He risked a glance back, and saw that the blonde brat, Naruto, was coming after him. In fact, if he didn't know any better, there seemed to be a small army of the boy coming after him. The girl with the pearl-coloured eyes was accompanying him, veins bulging around her eyes, and the faintest outline of a pupil now present.

How the hell could they see through an Invisibility Cloak? A question that could be answered later when he wasn't fleeing like a thief. He cast a Bombarda charm, and then another, forcing the two children and the doubles of Naruto to dodge them. Some of the doubles weren't so lucky, disappearing into puffs of smoke. "Hinata! Fast Ball Gentle Fist?" Naruto yelled.

Hinata nodded, and Naruto and his doubles picked her up by the arms and legs. She called out, "I'm ready," after they shifted her enough. They then hurled her, right at Snape.

She then began hitting him with moves that seemed to be the merest brush of her fingers against him, even through the Invisibility Cloak, but he realised that wherever she touched, his magic became dulled, and sensations numbed.

He kicked out, forcing her to dodge back, before he sent another Bombarda charm her way. A clone of Naruto took the brunt of the spell, vanishing after protecting her. Another stole the Cloak, leaving him exposed. With a roar, he cast Fiendfyre on the town behind the children, letting the demonic flames run rampant, and thus help cover his escape. At least any back-up would be too busy.

One of the Naruto doubles glared at him. This one seemed to have red eyes, with slit pupils, and the whisker marks were darker. He got the feeling that whatever was inside it, it wasn't Naruto. " ** _Insolent insect_** ," it snarled, in a voice far deeper than Naruto's had been. And then, Snape was hit by one of the most chilling feelings he had ever felt. " ** _When would you like to die?_** "

"After you!" Snape snarled, before sending a Killing Curse at it. As it exploded with a scream of fury, he began running again, only to find a woman appearing in front of him in a swirl of leaves, dressed in little more than a tan coat, a miniskirt of the same colour, and a mesh bodysuit.

"Give me back my son, you bastard," she hissed, knives at the ready.

With a snarl of contempt, he sent her flying with a Banishing Charm, and ran past her as she struggled to her feet. He was running out of options here. As much as he wanted to use the Killing Curse, it was draining, and now, he was considering using Apparition to get the hell out of here, even if he was doing it blind.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" screamed the banshee who had called Harry her son. And suddenly, it felt like something bit him.

"Ink Beast Mimicry: Snakes," said a calm voice, and Snape felt yet more bites.

"Hold him, Sai," the woman, whom Snape now recognised as Anko from Fawkes' memories as she moved around to his front. Snakes extended from the sleeves of her coat, and were clamped on Snape's shoulder.

"We've got you now, _dattebayo!_ " Naruto snarled, he and his clones grabbing onto Snape.

"Hinata, go and fetch the ANBU still at our house. Tell them we've caught the bastard."

Snape sneered. "That's what you think." Apparating (and doing so blind) with them clinging onto him was risky, but better than having to deal with reinforcements. The surprise might also distract them long enough for him to flee. So he concentrated…

* * *

…and they were elsewhere. Somewhere dark and dim. Somewhere sinister. A laboratory, like something out of a horror movie, filled with bizarre apparatus and tanks filled with fluid and sinister shapes.

" _'Will you walk into my parlour?_ ', said the spider to the fly," rasped a voice that was unfamiliar to Snape. But judging by the reactions on Anko's face, she knew who it was. She gasped, and clutched at her shoulder, something there causing her pain.

From behind a tank walked a man. Snape stared. The man was like some shinobi rip-off of Voldemort, a tall, slender man with mildly androgynous features, golden snake-like eyes, pale skin, and a perpetual smirk. He chuckled when he saw Harry, clutched in Snape's arms. Snape realised, with horror, that this was Harry's father, the real one. The resemblance was chilling.

Suddenly, the man's eyes seemed to glow, and Snape found himself frozen to the spot.

"Orochimaru…" Anko hissed in horror.

"Whoever you are, you have my thanks," Orochimaru purred. "In addition to bringing me the _jinchuriki_ of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, and my wayward student, you have brought me back little Mitsuki. After all, a son should be allowed to know his own father…"

 **CHAPTER 15 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Sorry for the wait! Between trying to figure out a way Anko could do a false defection (which I decided to abandon) and other stories clamouring for my attention, I left this story on the backburner.**

 **I wanted to do Snape-bashing for this story, but I also wanted to portray him as someone who was badass, despite his nastiness, hence his managing to do fairly well in his attempt to escape Konoha, despite things going wrong. And I wanted someone to die at his hands, and decided that poor Xenophilus Lovegood was going to cop it. Sorry for all you Lovegood fans, both Xeno and Luna.**

 **Nice cliffhanger, huh? Hopefully, I'll update this a bit sooner than I had before. And don't worry, if you think Harry hasn't been badass lately. He'll get his chance in the next chapter.**

 **Review-answering time!** **jgkitarel** **: True, but some shinobi and a lot of the civilians don't care. Keep in mind that these are people who viewed Naruto as the** ** _Kyuubi_** **, and not as the container. And Orochimaru is really only dusting off old rumours and combining them with Mitsuki's presence to cause further discontent. The Hokage and Danzo may not be fooled, and neither will the characters that count, but even so, Konoha is as full of sheeple as Magical Britain.**

 **Scififan33** **: As to whom or what Sai is (and yes, I said it that way for a reason), you will find out.**

 **Lupine Horror** **: It's great to hear from one of my favourite authors reading my work, but please keep in mind the whole Amortentia thing is me doing a lot of bashing. I actually dislike James Potter, even in canon. It's frankly easier for me to bash him than it is for me to bash Dumbledore. Sadly for you, Xeno's bitten the dust, though.**

 **1\. The Harry Potter Wiki suggested that this may have been invented by Hermione to help Harry. I've made the decision for this story to portray this spell as having existed for some time.**


	17. Chapter 16: Escape

**CHAPTER 16:**

 **ESCAPE**

She should have killed him when she had the chance, Anko reflected. But no, she decided to capture and interrogate the bastard who had killed Xeno Lovegood, and tried to kidnap her child. That way, she could make him talk…and more to the point, make him _pay_. But now, her desire to extract revenge had gotten her into the lair of her enemy!

The Cursed Seal on her shoulder throbbed with a febrile pain. Orochimaru's very presence was causing it to act up. She clutched at it, trying very hard not to cry out. She'd rather die than give that bastard the satisfaction.

Snape got to his feet, and glared at Orochimaru. "I didn't bring the Potter brat here for you, willingly or otherwise. And I…" He blinked, before sagging slightly, beginning to pant with exhaustion. "Damn girl. What the hell did she do to my magic?"

"She was a Hyuuga, moron," Anko snarled. "The Gentle Fist fucks with your chakra pathways and nodes. Must affect your magic too. It's only bad luck you managed have enough left to do that Apparition thing."

"Another mage? Fascinating," Orochimaru said, approaching Snape.

"Don't come any closer, you Dark Lord copycat!" Snape snarled.

"Hm? Am I to understand that you mean Voldemort?" Orochimaru chuckled at the look on Snape's face. "He is a rank amateur compared to me. For example…"

Suddenly, his killing intent hit everyone present like a gale-force wind. Anko, for a moment, died screaming in agony beneath a million senbon, Mitsuki, Naruto and Sai suffering from the same fate…only to recover from the killing intent-induced _genjutsu_. Judging by the way Snape was vomiting copiously on the ground, he got hit even worse, Mitsuki sprawled on the ground (still unconscious) a little way away. Naruto and even the usually stoic Sai were panting, their eyes wide.

"How…?" Snape rasped as he wiped his mouth. "I'm a master…Occlumens…"

"Occlumency, from what I understand, only works on mental invasions of magical origin. Chakra is a force innate to all living things, but magic isn't. And _genjutsu_ works with chakra manipulation. Occlumency might help, but if your reaction is anything to go by, it's clearly a highly overrated discipline." Orochimaru, with a smirk, began lightly prodding the shaking Snape with his foot. "Does this bug you? Does this bug you? Does this bug…"

"INCENDIO!" Snape roared, setting Orochimaru on fire, the man collapsing screaming to the floor. He then snatched up Mitsuki, and rushed for the door, only for Naruto to bar his path. "Out of my way, brat!"

"Gimme back my friend, asshole!"

Snape merely barged by him, kicking him viciously in the stomach. But the door was locked.

Suddenly, grotesquely, Orochimaru's charred corpse seemed to vomit out…Orochimaru. Covered in slime, intact, and getting to his feet a little shakily. Rather too calmly, he said, "Obviously, it _did_ bug you." Suddenly, his neck stretched, and his head lashed out, like a snake, fangs bared. And viciously, he bit down on Snape's shoulder.

Snape screamed in agony, one hand clutching at where Orochimaru bit him. He dropped Mitsuki, and began staggering around the laboratory, his face twisted into a rictus of pain.

"Cry me a river," Orochimaru sneered as Snape screamed. "You set me on fire, mage. This is just a love tap by comparison. I mean, if little Anko could survive it, surely you can."

Anko, as much as she thought that Snape deserved such pain, also knew that they didn't need another person with that Cursed Seal. There were too many of them in the world already. Then, her heart skipped a beat when she saw Mitsuki stirring. _No_ , she hissed in her mind. _Stay unconscious. Don't bring attention to yourself!_

* * *

Harry barely remembered what happened. All he remembered, besides playing in the backyard, was the briefest of impressions of a hooked-nosed man with lank, greasy dark hair. He heard screams of pain, and a horrifyingly familiar voice saying, "I mean, if little Anko could survive it, surely you can."

His eyes flickered open to see that they were no longer in Konoha, at least no part that he recognised. And the dark-haired man was currently clutching at his neck, screaming in agony. Anko was also clutching at her neck (the Cursed Seal of Heaven, he realised with a thrill of horror), while Naruto was getting to his feet. Sai looked shaken, which was new: the boy rarely displayed much in the way of emotion.

And there was Orochimaru. His father. Watching the dark-haired man stagger around in pain with a massive smirk.

If Harry didn't do something, Sai, Naruto, and his adoptive mother were all going to die. So he extended one finger, and murmured, " _Flipendo._ "

Suddenly, Orochimaru did an impromptu somersault, his eyes widening. Wasting no time, he got to his feet, and made the handsigns. " _KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!_ "

Although he couldn't make as many as Naruto by any means, the half dozen or so copies were more than enough. Harry had learned the technique alongside Naruto, and he found, with practise, that Shadow Clones could not only use jutsus, but spells as well. Orochimaru found himself being pelted on all sides by spells, not very high-powered ones, but ones that stung. Ones that kept him from concentrating.

With a snarl, the dark-haired man tried to grab one of his clones. "Get here you little shit!" The man then proceeded to throttle the clone until it evaporated. Harry decided that the man was not very nice at all. Then again, he had seen this man kill Luna's father.

"Mitsuki! Over here!" Anko yelled.

Harry dashed over to them, Naruto joining him as they dashed over to Sai and Anko. Orochimaru glared at the real Harry. "You dare defy your own father, Mitsuki?! You are MINE!"

"Go to hell!" Harry snarled as he reached Sai and Anko.

"Everyone, hold onto Mitsuki. Mitsuki, now would be a great time to use your vanishing trick!" Anko said as she gripped his leg.

With a snarl, Orochimaru broke free of the clones' spells, dispelling them all with a wind jutsu, before he charged at them. Harry closed his eyes, and tried to focus on the same feeling he felt when he first escaped Orochimaru. That desire to be anywhere but here.

Orochimaru was within centimetres of them when he felt the sensation of being squeezed through a tube…

* * *

…Only to end up stumbling as they arrived back in Konoha. And the four of them gaped from where they stood, which was on the Hokage monument.

Smoke belched from many of the buildings. Flames ravaged many a house or business. Only water jutsu seemed to work to any great degree against the flames. Anko struggled to her feet. "Okay, Mitsuki. My turn. I'll take us to the Hokage. Naruto, Sai, hang on."

A few _Shunshins_ later, and they were in front of the Hokage building, where the Hokage was hurriedly giving out orders. He saw Anko and her group. "Anko! Are you all right?! Where's the kidnapper?!"

"Somewhere very unpleasant!" Anko responded. "What's going on?"

"Those fires seem to be cursed!" the Hokage said. "Only water jutsu seem to have any effect! Lupin told me that it is something called Fiendfyre, a cursed spell that creates an uncontrollable blaze that is alive!" He noticed that Anko was panting, clutching at her shoulder. "What's the matter?"

"Long story!"

The Hokage nodded, before turning to the gathered ninjas. "You have your orders! Extinguish the fires! Protect the civilians!" Once the ninjas had left, the Hokage beckoned for her and her charges to follow him.

* * *

The Hokage was soon examining her Cursed Seal, while Danzo looked on, his usually impassive expression replaced by a slight frown. "This mage…he is now with Orochimaru?"

"And good riddance to him!" Anko snarled. "Orochimaru marked him with the Cursed Seal, I'm sure of it. With any luck, he'll be dead before dawn."

"True, from your intelligence, there is only a 10% survival rate," Danzo said. He had been busy speaking to witnesses, namely Hinata, Sirius, and Lupin. "But ten percent is still an unacceptably high survival rate when it comes to a matter like this. The fact that he was able to infiltrate Konoha is embarrassing, to say the least, not to mention disturbing. The man was wearing some sort of cloak that rendered him and anyone else under it invisible, according to the Hyuuga girl. Lupin and Black recognised it as an artifact belonging to Mitsuki's father, James Potter. While that cloak is of the highest quality, they claim that there are others, of lesser quality, but still available. Thankfully, even that cloak seems to be vulnerable to the _Byakugan_. I had thought that the phoenix was an ally, though."

"It's possible Fawkes was forced to comply," the Hokage said. "Lupin, Black, and Lovegood have all been forthcoming about some of the spells they can use to force compliance on sentient beings. Dumbledore may have discovered our deception."

"Perhaps. What do we do, then, Hiruzen?" Danzo asked.

"We're investigating combining the existing seals with the wards of the mages. They work on similar principles, though wards are more specialised towards defensive purposes. Lupin is the most knowledgeable about them of those here. At the very least, we can enhance our defences so that any mage beyond those already living here is excluded. I think we'll discuss further defences at a later date."

Naruto shuddered, and Harry put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I don't think I ever wanna be anywhere near that Orochimaru guy again, not before I'm way stronger!" Naruto said. "I mean, Anko's full of stories about him, but…that _genjutsu_ …"

"Kid, that's normal," Anko said, as the Hokage finished his ministrations. The Cursed Seal was no longer hurting as much, and so she shrugged her coat back on. "Orochimaru is considered a legendary shinobi for a reason. We only experienced a little bit of his power. And we got lucky. Mitsuki got lucky. Hell, even that Snape guy got lucky by roasting his snake ass. But luck's fickle and finite. It's good that you use him as a milestone, a goal to achieve for getting stronger, but don't ever turn out like him."

"Hiruzen, I will debrief Sai," Danzo said, standing. "Unfortunately, given tonight's events, our intention of scuppering the rumours has been scuppered itself. I don't think we can mount any meaningful misdirection now. I will redouble efforts to try and find out who is spreading the rumours. By your leave, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage nodded, and Danzo and Sai left. The Hokage looked at Naruto and Harry. "Well done, you two, for doing so well under pressure. I believe that Hinata deserves a commendation as well for trying to stop Snape. But do not get complacent. We may be lucky, and that may be the last attempt Dumbledore makes to retrieve you, Harry, but as Anko said, luck is both fickle and finite."

The by-now familiar figure of Kakashi Hatake entered. "Hokage-sama, the fires have now been extinguished. Unfortunately, including Mr Lovegood, twenty people are confirmed dead, and at least three times that number are still unaccounted for. We're lucky it wasn't more. Do we have any idea of who caused that?"

"Unfortunately, Kakashi, or fortunately, depending on how you view it, the man responsible is now in the custody of Orochimaru, and if Anko is correct, enjoying the dubious pleasures of the Cursed Seal of Heaven."

"Too good for him," Anko growled. "I wanted to have the chance to give him the full treatment at T&I with Ibiki. Nobody tries to take my son from me and gets away with it."

"Well, that's one thing the rumours got right. You are his mother." On her glare, Kakahsi said, a little hurriedly, "Well, who else but a mother would go to hell and back to retrieve him?"

"Better. You won't be neutered, Tardy Guy."

* * *

As Anko took him home, Harry thought about tonight. This was a wake-up call. When he first came to Konoha, he had decided to become a shinobi because it meant he could avoid others being hurt because of him. But tonight, he had been kidnapped. He could only help right at the end, and only by running away with his mother, his best friend, and his comrade. When this Snape man took him, he had been knocked out. Before that, he had been frozen in surprise as Snape set fire to his house, and murdered the father of one of his friends.

Tonight had brought it all into sharp relief. He would gain strength to ensure that, when (there wouldn't be an if in a shinobi's lifestyle) something this bad happened again, he would not freeze. He would fight back as soon as the opportunity arose. He had been doing so well in training, and yet, he needed his friends and his mother to save him. Not that he was ungrateful for their help: far from it. He was glad to have them by his side. But he couldn't rely on them forever.

* * *

A little later that night, a Shadow Clone of Naruto's, with darkened whiskers and red eyes, hugged Luna as she mourned her father. Quietly, she asked, "Why are you doing this, Kurama?"

"… ** _Because there aren't enough hugs in the world._** "

* * *

In Orochimaru's lair, Snape dreamed hot, febrile dreams of revenge. He would join Orochimaru, he thought, within the depths of feverish darkness. He had no trouble appearing to serve more than one master: in the end, after all, he was only out for himself. He would serve Orochimaru, until the time came when he could usurp the Voldemort wannabe. Then, he would take his revenge. On Dumbledore. On Voldemort. On Konoha. On Naruto. On Anko. And especially on Harry Potter…

* * *

Sai was disturbed. He did tell Danzo about his near-breakdown while facing Orochimaru. Danzo accepted it, but warned Sai that he would have to undertake additional training to keep his emotions in check.

Sai also told him of something else, something that didn't seem like part of the _genjutsu_ Orochimaru induced with his killing intent. It felt like…memories. Fragments of memories, dislodged by the _genjutsu_. Danzo told him to withstand them. The supplementary training would help.

But Danzo didn't know what that was like. It felt like he had lived another life. For a moment, he had been overwhelmed with a desire to kill Mitsuki Mitarashi, or rather, Harry Potter. For a moment, he thought his name was a different one.

For a moment, he thought his name was Tom Marvolo Riddle.

 **CHAPTER 16 ANNOTATIONS:**

 ** _Bam_** **.**

 **This revelation about Sai has been a long time coming. I had the first inkling of the idea in Chapter 13, and put a hint in accordingly. It occurred to me that Sai, if you gave him blue eyes, looks a lot like a young Tom Riddle, and I decided, for the purpose of this story, that this was no accident. No, he is not Voldemort's son. Details will be revealed later, but know that, like Harry, he has an accidental Horcrux latched onto his soul. Indeed, Sai is partially Voldemort, because unlike Harry, he doesn't have a protective barrier between his soul and the Horcrux.**

 **I also wrote this chapter partly to give Harry a wake-up call, as well as to give him a badass moment. And in case you're wondering how he learned to created Shadow Clones, he learned to do so alongside Naruto. He just uses normal clones for most purposes.**

 **And it seems that Snape will be joining Orochimaru. He will be out of the story for a while.**

 **By the way, I've decided to change the pairing. It's not going to be Harry/Luna now. I had a bit of inspiration, and so, I'm changing it. The new character will be a key character in the next chapter.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Lupine Horror** **: If there are few characters in the series you like, one asks the question, why write fanfic for it? As for Snape, I try to vary my portrayals in my fics. In the Cetra Heritage Saga, he is portrayed as in canon, but gradually becoming a better man. Indeed, in the very first chapter of** ** _Holiday_** **, he teaches Hermione (in his rather acid way) the harsh truths of her ability meaning little in a world filled with blood-purity views. He becomes a little like Avon from** ** _Blake's 7_** **.** ** _Sins of the Father_** **goes the complete opposite, showing Snape as a man beyond redemption. I take cues from canon, though. And yes, Fawkes will be free of the machinations of Dumbledore. More detail will be given later.**

 **Jostanos** **: Well, Snape IS going to be experimented upon. But he isn't going to be killed.**

 **Macilnar** **: I've addressed most of your objections in the chapter above. Anko wanted to capture Snape to interrogate him, as well as take revenge for trying to kidnap him. And as far as I understand it, those in physical contact with someone undergoing Apparition will be taken with them. Snape had just enough magic for that Apparition, plus an Incendio spell. Hinata hindered him, didn't stop him. And finally, yes, it was a stretch to believe they ended up in Orochimaru's lab. Deal with it. I write how I want, not how YOU want. And most people seemed to enjoy that chapter.**

 **No numbered annotations. I'm sure many of you are breathing a sigh of relief.**


	18. Chapter 17: The Snake and the Beetle

**CHAPTER 17:**

 **THE SNAKE AND THE BEETLE**

The shockwaves of the attack on Harry were still being felt. The rumours never went away, though they died down a little. Most, however, were concerned with rebuilding what parts of Konoha had been destroyed by Fiendfyre, and mourning the dead.

Luna, to a certain degree, went even loopier since her father died. It was more of a coping mechanism: beneath it all, she was very sane, and she actually had some conversations with Kurama about what she would do to Snape should she ever encounter him again that had the _Kyuubi_ , a creature that lived for destruction, astonished. He didn't know it was possible to do that with a couple of onions, a straw, and a toothpick. And that was only for starters. Even so, Harry and his friends did their best to comfort the eccentric girl.

Besides Luna, the one who mourned Xenophilus Lovegood most was, surprisingly, Kurama himself. He had found the experience of being interviewed by Xenophilus so novel, he had actually thought of the eccentric cryptozoologist as a friend. He reckoned that he would make sure Snape died a slow, painful death through being poisoned by the _Kyuubi_ 's own corrosive chakra.

Fawkes, as it turned out, had a rather strange thing happen in the wake of his brainwashing and impromptu Burning Day. The original bindings that kept him bound to Hogwarts castle had been loosened by Dumbledore and Snape's charms and curses. His Burning Day had destroyed all of those, which meant he was no longer obligated to return to Hogwarts. He opted to make his new home in the Hokage's office, something the Hokage came to accept after a while. He would return to Hogwarts, but only after Dumbledore no longer ruled the roost.

Harry began training more seriously since then. It wasn't just his mother he sought help from, though, or his godfather and Lupin. On his own initiative, Harry sought out the other _jounin_ who worked as instructors. Kakashi was perhaps the most helpful: despite his lazy attitude and his tendency to fail _genin_ teams sent to him for evaluation, he was good at covering the basics, and was also the most friendly to Harry.

So too was Kurenai Yuuhi, a recently-minted _jounin_ who specialised in _genjutsu_ , and who was a good friend of Anko's. She taught him about _genjutsu_.

Meeting Might Guy was an experience. He was already making plans for his own _genin_ team, as the class above Harry's was graduating soon, and Might Guy had his eye on some promising students. While Harry would never be able to keep up with Might Guy's training regimen or wear that damned spandex suit, Might Guy's words did kindle more confidence in Harry.

Ebisu, personal tutor to Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson, was a bit more disdainful, but he did discuss briefly some chakra control exercises.

Much of what Harry learned, he passed onto Naruto. The _jinchuriki_ was still struggling a little at the academy. It was more of the theory than the practise: he could now pass the exam's practical component. It was written exams he had trouble with. Naruto could be intelligent when something interested him. It was trying to interest him that was the problem.

* * *

A couple of weeks after Severus Snape's disastrous attempt to extract Harry, Konoha received yet more visitors. However, these were considerably more welcome. It was a delegation from Taki, the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. It was a relatively minor Hidden Village, not part of the big five (Konoha, Kumo, Suna, Iwa and Kiri), but still known enough.

Officially, the delegation was here to discuss trade and diplomatic relations, as well as the next Chunin Exams. Unofficially, one of the reasons was so that the _jinchuriki_ of the _Nanabi_ could meet her counterpart in Konoha.

Which was why Harry, Naruto, Hinata and Luna were playing in one of the Hokage's private training grounds. Those were heavily guarded, so security wasn't an issue. Lupin, Sirius, Anko and Kakashi were also on personal guard.

Since her father died, Luna had been in a bad way. She still kept up her cheerful, scatter-brained demeanour, but her friends knew that her father's death had shaken her badly. Everyone did their best to comfort her, and Sirius took her in. But she seemed to be looking forward to today. She had met the _jinchuriki_ of the _Nanabi_ during Luna's travels with her father, and the two had hit it off. And Naruto was keen to meet another who was like him.

Through the gate to the training grounds came a quartet of people: the _jinchuriki_ , plus three bodyguards. The girl they saw was looking around with slight anxiety: she was, after all, in unfamiliar territory. She was about a year older than Harry, Hinata, and Naruto, with light brown skin, mint green hair cut in a short, shaggy style, and orange eyes.

"Hello, Fuu!" Luna yelped, skipping forward, and hugging the girl, much to the amusement of her guards, and the quartet of Konoha adults. She then skipped around, and spoke to Fuu's back, concealed by her clothing. "Hey, Choumei!"

"Hey, Luna," Fuu said, smiling, her nervousness gone to be replaced by a more happy demeanour. "Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yep," Luna said. Her face fell. "But my daddy's dead."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that."

"Everyone is." Then, as swiftly as it had fallen off, the mask was replaced. "Anyway, meet my friends."

When Fuu walked forward, her eyes were drawn to Naruto. "Hey, Nine," she said.

"Hey, Seven. So, your name is Fuu? Funny name, _dattebayo_ ," he said.

"And what's yours?"

"Naruto!"

"Well, your name can mean 'fishcake'," Fuu said with a cheeky smile. Naruto scowled, but then, she said, "So, you got the ornery old fox sealed in you, huh? Tough break. Then again, _Bijuu_ aren't exactly known for being sociable. I was lucky enough to get one like that."

"So, your demon's nice?" Naruto asked.

"Yep. Choumei, the _Nanabi_. He's a rhinoceros beetle. Seven's a lucky number, you know. You got a tough break, Naruto. The villagers don't exactly love me back at Taki, but they still treat me okay, and I have a few friends there."

"I've got friends!" Naruto said indignantly. "You've met Luna, well, here's Hinata and Mitsuki."

Fuu looked at them, and whistled. "Wow, nice eyes, both of you. You're a Hyuuga, right?" she said, looking at Hinata.

"Y-Yes," Hinata said.

"Nice. Wish I had a _Byakugan_. Must be interesting to see people's chakra." Her attention switched to Harry. "And yours…like a snake's. Bit weird, but still cool."

"Um, thanks?"

"Harry's a bit shy," Luna said.

Fuu frowned. "I thought Fox Boy here said his name was Mitsuki."

"Harry is the name my mother gave me," Harry explained. "My biological father called me Mitsuki. I don't like him, but most people in Konoha find 'Harry' a bit odd to say."

"Harry…Harry…well, it's a bit weird, but I guess, other than Hinata, we all have weird names. You don't mind if I call you Harry?"

"Not at all, Fuu. Do you have a last name?"

"Nope. Orphan, you see," Fuu said.

Harry winced. "Sorry…"

"Nah, it's fine. I'm over it."

"If it helps…" Hinata said, "save for m-myself, we all are. My father still lives, and Mitsuki's father is still alive, but he doesn't consider his f-father worthy of the title."

"Wow. Must be pretty nasty. Did he give you that scar on your head?"

"What? No, something else did." As Harry worked to cover it up, Fuu laughed.

"Hey, no need to cover it up. Any experienced shinobi will have a scar or too. It looks cool, too. Like a lightning bolt. So, how long till you guys become _genin?_ "

"In a year and a bit(1). What about you?"

"I'm taking my graduation exams later this year, after I turn twelve. I want to have everything down. Hey, who knows? We could end up in the Chunin Exams together."

* * *

Of all the people present, Fuu and Harry seemed to hit it off more. The thing that really kicked it off was when Fuu mentioned that, by tapping into Choumei's power, she could sprout wings and fly. Harry was fascinated by flying: Sirius and Remus had regaled him with tales of Quidditch, and he wished there was a shinobi means to fly as easily as with a broomstick. And his knowledge of Naruto's status meant that he was used to talking to a _jinchuriki_.

It got even more amusing when Naruto demonstrated his little trick with Shadow Clones, about how Kurama could take one over, controlling it like a puppet. Fuu decided to try the same thing, and for the first time in decades, Kurama met Choumei.

Choumei took the form of Fuu, but with multiple, insect-like wings coming from her back. Luna remarked that it made Choumei look like a fairy, something the _Bijuu_ laughed at. She then turned to Kurama, and said cheerfully, " _Hey, big bro. Still grumpy?_ "

" ** _You are as annoyingly effusive as always, Choumei. Still, better You than, say, Shukaku_** ," Kurama conceded sullenly.

" _Eh, he's nuts. I think he's more like a squirrel than a Tanuki_ ," Choumei said, with a shrug. " _I'm surprised the humans aren't scared of you._ "

" ** _Oh, they are, of My wrath. But I am confining it to amusing attacks with no fatal consequences._** "

"He's learned the joy of pranks!" Sirius beamed proudly.

Choumei and Fuu laughed. " _You know, I've been telling you and the others that for ages, big bro. Why get all grumpy, and hand out_ Bijuudamas _like candy, when you can have people cursing your name impotently? I mean, they tend to get annoyed when you kill people._ "

" ** _Yes, yes, Choumei, I have understood Your words, and I appreciate them. There is little need to strip the flesh and salt the wound_** ," Kurama remarked irritably. " ** _Try telling Shukaku that, though._** "

Fuu, meanwhile, looked at Harry. "Naruto said in his letters that you're some sort of mage. How is that different from chakra?"

"Magic works along similar lines," Lupin explained, "but chakra is pretty much innate to everyone. And magic isn't as restricted to elemental properties as ninjutsu." With a wave of his wand, he made flowers bloom in front of Fuu and Choumei.

"Whoa," Fuu breathed. "Nice trick. It's like _Mokuton_ , isn't it?"

"Not exactly. Conjuring flowers is more common back home, anyway," Lupin said, having learned about the legendary power of the First Hokage.

"So, can you do that?" Fuu asked Harry.

"Not yet," the young wizard admitted. "But I want to."

" _Well, I can't wait to see you do it_ ," Choumei chirped.

* * *

By the time Fuu and Choumei had to leave, there was little doubt in the mind of any of those present that new friendships had been forged. The cheerful _jinchuriki_ and her equally cheerful tenant had also done more: they had helped to heal the wounds Snape's attack had opened up. Not heal them completely, but her presence was a refreshing breath of air, a cheerful presence everyone needed.

It was decided that Fuu would send more letters to them, although she asked that they not mention Choumei in any correspondence. If they were to talk about her, then they would call Choumei Fuu's friend.

It was a friendship that would grow, between the five humans. In addition, Kurama was, in a way, grateful to talk to his little sister again. Choumei was annoyingly cheerful, true, but she was also one of the few of his siblings that he didn't have much rancour for. Plus, she had some interesting ideas for pranks that she sent to him via her host's correspondence. Fuu and Choumei were known as pranksters back in Taki, albeit on a somewhat lower key than Naruto or the new Marauders.

Over the next year or so, Fuu made another couple of visits to Konoha. Indeed, she made _genin_ about six months after her first visit, and soon, her team became the one most often sent on diplomatic missions to Konoha. On one of these subsequent visits, Harry confessed who his father was, after Fuu noted a similarity between him and Orochimaru. Much to his astonishment, she didn't reject him. Instead, she said, "Wow, tough break to be the son of the Snake _Sannin_. So that's why Hinata said you might as well be. Well, at least you're cute."

Harry had never really been called cute before. It was certainly a novel experience. And it soon became apparent that, while Fuu was friends with them all, she seemed to pay particular attention to Harry. She seemed to be interested in his magic, and the shy boy intrigued her anyway.

For something over a year, not much happened. Dumbledore made no further attempt to abduct Harry, and it was presumed that Snape had died, or else was lying low with Orochimaru. But then came the day of the Graduation Exams, when a traitor would be revealed…

 **CHAPTER 17 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **In case you're wondering, this story will now be Harry/Fuu. Obviously, there's no romance at this stage: Harry is only a month away from being eleven when Fuu first arrives, and Fuu's just shy of twelve. But it will grow as time goes by.**

 **Anyway, next chapter, we'll be going through the stations of** ** _Naruto_** **canon now. Particularly Mizuki being exposed.**

 **1\. As noted above, Harry is not far from being eleven. The reason why Snape came to kidnap him now is because it was getting close to the time he was supposed to be going to Hogwarts. I imagine Fuu is maybe a little less than a year old than him.**


	19. Chapter 18: Traitors and Teams

**CHAPTER 18:**

 **TRAITORS AND TEAMS**

It was the day of the Graduation Exam. Many of them had passed. Harry, Naruto, Hinata, Luna, many of their friends and classmates…

Sasuke Uchiha had taken Rookie of the Year, and Sakura Haruno was the Top Kunoichi. Sasuke was less of an arrogant boy now, and while his cold demeanour remained, he was friends, albeit of a distant sort, with Harry and Luna. Naruto, he viewed as more of an annoyance, albeit a moderately skilled one. Luna had helped introduce doubts in his mind about why Itachi killed the Uchihas, and he was no longer quite as obsessed with revenge. He was now more obsessed with getting answers from his brother before killing him. And he could empathise with Luna's plight, as she had seen her father get murdered in front of her.

Sakura was still something of a fangirl of Sasuke, as was Ino, but the two had remained friendly rivals rather than bitter ones, thanks to Luna's intervention. Indeed, the two girls had also been amongst those who comforted Luna after her father's death. In exchange, she gave them tips on how to present themselves for Sasuke. The two of them took their training a bit more seriously, and now opted to sit on either side of the boy. Given that they ceased their fangirlish shrieking and were actually trying to take the life of a _kunoichi_ seriously, Sasuke tolerated them. Hell, he could even stand them being on the same team. The fact that he could stand _being_ in a team in the first place was a step forward for him. And Sakura, like Sasuke, was friends with Harry and Luna, along with Hinata. She tolerated Naruto.

At Ichiraku's that evening, however, Naruto talked to Harry, Anko, Lupin, and Hinata about something disturbing. While he had passed the Graduation Exam proper, his written exam had been his weakest component. Mizuki had approached him after his graduation, and suggested that he steal the Scroll of Seals as an extra credit exam to make up for that. In another time, raised by nobody but himself, Naruto would have been duped by this, especially if it meant graduating. But Naruto smelt a rat.

Anko sent word to the Hokage discreetly, and received a message back: they would do a sting operation to entrap the traitor. Kakashi would be sent along to make sure that nothing went wrong. Hinata and Harry would have to stay away, with the Hokage.

In retrospect, they were impressed with how Naruto (in order to make it look good) snuck in and stole the Scroll of Seals. While he couldn't completely evade the ANBU and the Hokage in the process, the fact that he circumvented the usual security measures in the first place was admirable…and also meant that they needed to review security around the scroll.

One near-spanner in the works was Iruka. The man tracked down where Naruto was after learning from his fellow teacher about the theft (much of the village was in an uproar), before learning from Anko and Kakashi about the truth. Iruka played his role, though it had gotten him injured. And Mizuki was annoyed to learn that Naruto not only knew about the _Kyuubi_ , but was on (admittedly precarious) good terms with Kurama. He also made a few choice words about Anko, Mitsuki, and their relationship with Orochimaru, unaware until it was too late that Anko was nearby.

Mizuki turned to run, only to find hundreds of Shadow Clones of Naruto blocking his path. And both Anko and Kakashi were looking to get all medieval on his traitorous arse.

The upshot was, a rather bloodied and bruised Mizuki was currently languishing in T&I, with Ibiki interrogating him. Iruka had to be taken to hospital, though thankfully, he wouldn't be there long.

Naruto was sent back home, feeling very pleased with himself (though he regretted his favourite teacher getting hurt), while the Hokage and Danzo in attendance. Why he was there, neither Anko or Kakashi knew. At least until further on in their debriefing.

"Given our academy alumni this time, I have decided on a number of probationary teams, subject of course to the Second Genin Exam," the Hokage said. "Kakashi, I know many elements within our Council want you to train Sasuke Uchiha, so that once he awakens the _Sharingan_ , he can be taught about its use by someone with experience in it. I know you have requested to have Naruto on your team, and you'll get that granted. The third member of Team 7, as it is assigned, will be Sakura Haruno. I daresay you have your work cut out in order to make them a coherent unit, but my reports show that Sasuke, thanks to Lupin and the Lovegood girl, is more open to the idea of a team. You may need to make sure they pass the test, though, spell it out what it means should they fail the initial part."

"I can't force teamwork, Hokage-sama," the lazy _jounin_ said. "But I will do my best. What about his avenger attitude?"

"Reports show that he is now more concerned with getting the truth out of Itachi. The Lovegood girl's remarks have awakened doubts in him." The Hokage didn't fail to notice Danzo's eye narrowing slightly, but the Hokage said, "This will be for the good of Konoha. If he continued to have an avenging attitude, his loyalty to the village might have been loose, at best. Now, Anko, you have also been assigned a _genin_ team, Team 11, already given the probationary moniker Team Mage, with Harry Potter, Luna Lovegood, and Sai."

Anko blinked, confused. "I thought that close relations, even if not by blood, could not teach a _genin_ team with said relations on them."

"True," Danzo said. "But who can you trust with your child? Who would be capable of overlooking your son's link to Orochimaru? Admittedly, more than a few _jounin_ instructors, but their teams have already been assigned. Your friend Kurenai Yuuhi has been assigned Team 8, Hiruzen's son Asuma has been assigned Team 10. Ebisu is more of a private tutor than a field agent. And Might Guy already has his own team. And I am sure that you do not want your child to be wearing green spandex and orange leg-warmers."

It took a moment for the other three to realise that Danzo, albeit with his usual impassive expression, had made a joke. The man continued before they could comment on this.

"Despite your posting in T&I and your status as a _tokubetsu jounin_ , your record is exemplary, all in spite of your former affiliation and your eccentricities," Danzo said. "Hiruzen was at a loss as to who to put your son under. I suggested this solution, but contingent on one main condition. This is purely a precautionary measure, to make sure that you treat your son, in the team at least, with all due fairness, rather than as a precaution against treachery."

"Inoichi again, right?" Anko asked. Upon seeing Danzo's nod, she sighed. "Guy's been in and out of my head so much, his wife'd probably think we were having an affair up there."

Kakashi sniggered briefly, but was silenced by a glare from Anko. Danzo, meanwhile, continued. "While Lupin and Black can continue with their magic education, the main emphasis of your training should be on bringing their skills as shinobi up to par. You shouldn't have that much trouble with Sai. I would suggest concentrating on the basics with your son and Lovegood, as well as physical training for them both. I heard both are quite adept with ninjutsu and _genjutsu_. Given their magic, I thought they could have versatile roles. Indeed, I'm strongly considering having your son use that cloak on his missions. Infiltration, frontline assault, capture, perhaps even tracking. A versatile team."

"We're still going to have to do D-Ranks, right?"

"Of course," Danzo said. "Although I have been told by Lupin of something called a Summoning Charm. As opposed to a summoning contract, it merely summons the object or animal or even person to you. I would imagine it might help when you have to go and catch Tora. That being said, I would ask that for the majority of D-Ranks, you ask them to refrain from using magic. Save for Tora, anyway. D-Ranks can be useful physical training, and using magic would negate that. We want them to be versatile, capable of using magic as well as ninja skills, rather than instead of them."

"Remember my poem in the Tower in the Forest of Death," the Hokage admonished. "They must be strong in both Heaven and in Earth, in mind and in body."

"I will do my best, sir," Anko said, bowing. "Is that all?"

"Yes. Make us proud, Anko. You're both dismissed."

* * *

As the two _jounin_ left, Danzo closed his visible eye in contemplation. "Are you having doubts, old friend?" the Hokage asked.

"Hardly," Danzo said. "I am taking a risk, allowing Anko to teach her child. But I have considered many options, and have found them, for the time being, wanting. I would have chosen Yuuhi, but you had already assigned her to the heirs to the Aburame, Hyuuga, and Inuzaka families. A sound choice, true. The truth is, few competent _jounin_ want anything to do with the child of Orochimaru. I considered some members of ANBU, but they are doing better work where they are now. Bringing in Inoichi Yamanaka is merely a precaution to make sure she is accountable." Danzo opened his eye, and looked at the Hokage. "There is a disturbing element, though. I need you to clear the room."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed, but he signalled the ANBU to leave, and then activated the privacy seals. "Well?"

"I am currently monitoring Sai, and making sure it is not a problem, but in the wake of Snape's attempted kidnapping, Sai confessed to me something disturbing. Orochimaru used a _genjutsu_ fuelled by his killing intent, which somehow triggered something in Sai's mind. He believed himself briefly to be a man called Tom Marvolo Riddle."

The Hokage blinked. "Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

Danzo reached for pen and paper, and then wrote out the name in English lettering, before crossing out letters one by one, forming four words, derived from that name. _I am Lord Voldemort_.

"Voldemort?" the Hokage asked incredulously. "How can Sai be Lord Voldemort?"

"It is a question I have asked myself since that night, Hiruzen. Sai is an orphan. I had forgotten his origins, so I examined his records, and found that his mother was one of my ROOT operatives, before you ordered me to disband it. Said operative took her child to England to gather intelligence on Orochimaru's whereabouts and his interest in the outside world. Sai was the result of a dalliance during a previous mission, but I thought his parents were strong shinobi, so I allowed her leave during her pregnancy. She took Sai with him on the mission, to lend credence to her cover story. She would have been present in the country at the time when Voldemort apparently perished…though I have reason to believe that he isn't dead."

"And you know this…how?"

"Discussion with Lupin and Black, as well as with Lovegood before he died. All three disclosed that Voldemort was apparently obsessed with obtaining immortality. Lupin and Black also had heard rumours of at least one vile technique he may have used to do so. I have taken the liberty of sending people to various magical strongholds over the past year or so, especially after Snape's infiltration. This is partly to see if we can find ways to strike back at Dumbledore for attacking us by proxy. But it was also to obtain knowledge of magic that might be useful for us. I gave Lupin and Black books on wards to help strengthen Konoha's defences. However, I found a rare and rather dark tome that spoke of the same technique that Voldemort may have used to stay alive. In fact, I am certain he used it."

"And what is this?"

"It is given the term 'Horcrux'. There are not dissimilar jutsus. In fact, I believe that the Cursed Seal of Heaven works in many similar regards."

"How?" the Hokage asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Analysis of Anko showed that the Cursed Seal of Heaven has Orochimaru's own chakra in it. The Horcrux is a fragment of a soul, infused into an object by a ritual that starts with murder. They use the act of murder as a means to split the soul, take part of the soul from the body, and bind it to an object. Then, should the person's body die, their soul will be tied to the mortal plane. The ritual itself was perhaps one of the most vile things I have ever seen outside of a Jashinist ritual. I think it makes even those pale by comparison. However, the book does warn that if one makes too many Horcruxes, the soul can become unstable, and even shatter into accidental Horcruxes. It is my belief that, when Voldemort was vanquished trying to kill Harry Potter, his soul splintered off at least one Horcrux, one that settled within Sai while he was still an infant."

The Hokage digested this. Eventually, he asked, "Is Sai dangerous?"

"As much as the Uzumaki boy is, yes," Danzo said. "Sai is as much Voldemort as Naruto is the _Kyuubi_. One can be influenced by the other, true, and that makes them dangerous, but they are not one and the same."

"I hope you are right, Danzo," the Hokage said.

"I hope that I am right too," Danzo admitted, a rare admission of uncertainty from the man. This in itself spoke volumes about his worries. The Hokage hoped that these worries would never be eventuated…

 **CHAPTER 18 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it. Anko's in charge of Team 11/Team Mage. And we have a potential reason for why Sai has the memories of Voldemort. I originally had his mother as being pregnant with him, but I thought Sai was meant to be about Harry's age.**

 **Review-answering time!** **KyuubiChild717** **: Don't worry, Sai will still be an ally of Harry's and Naruto's. The odds aren't as stacked against him as things suggest. The whole Sai/Voldemort thing will be an issue in future, but Sai will be on their side. So too will Danzo, albeit for pragmatic reasons.**

 **Bearmauls** **: Until the last couple of chapters, it was Harry/Luna. But I got an inspiration to do Harry/Fuu while writing Snape's kidnapping attempt. I intend to do a Harry/Luna in my Cetra Heritage Saga. As for your thing about ninjas and spells, keep in mind that this is a show where they arse around while doing the handsigns for their attacks, so ninjas and wizards are guilty of the same BS.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	20. Chapter 19: A New Beginning

**CHAPTER 19:**

 **A NEW BEGINNING**

Lupin and Black stared at the crystal ball in the Hokage's office. "So, you can use this to home in on any point of the village?" Lupin asked.

"Indeed. I mostly use it to keep an eye on Naruto. And before you ask, Black, the hot springs and other such areas are warded against this, so no, I can't use it to play the voyeur. I leave that to Jiraiya."

"Hey," Sirius protested, "if I did anything like that, Tsume would neuter me."

"Oh, right, I forgot you were dating her," the Hokage said.

Sirius nodded. While Remus was pretty much shacked up with Anko Mitarashi, lately, Sirius was dating the clan matriarch of the Inuzakas. He had a thing for wilder women…as long as they weren't as crazy as his cousin Bella. "So, we're here to watch our kids undergo their True Genin Tests? What was the point of the academy exams, anyway?"

"Simple," the Hokage said. "The Graduation Exam is to actually ensure that the _genin_ have the necessary skillsets to be effective ninja. Basic knowledge, ability to use _taijutsu_ and ninjutsu, as well as weapons. In short, those who fail three times are basically the hopeless cases. The True Genin Test is to make sure they can work as a team, which is vital to our ethos in Konoha. I have every confidence that Naruto, Luna and Harry will pass their tests."

Lupin inwardly shuddered. He had read that Kiri, the Village Hidden in the Mist, had, until seventeen years ago, a very brutal Graduation Exam, where classmates were forced to fight in battles to the death. Only a boy called Zabuza Momochi, not yet a member of the academy, put an end to this brutal practise. He did so by murdering over a hundred of children who were in the academy. The man would later become an infamous rogue ninja of some repute. The Demon of the Bloody Mist, according to the Bingo Book. "I looked up Kakashi's record," Lupin said, looking at the image. "He's never passed a team yet."

"It's because he uses a high-pressure test with misdirection, known as the Bell Test. He is not the only one to have used it. Indeed, his sensei, Minato Namikaze, administered the same test to him, and he passed the test, along with his team. I myself used such a test on the _Sannin_ when they were _genin_ under my command. To tell the truth, he will give them numerous opportunities to pass anyway, as the council have put him under pressure to do so. They want to ensure that he teaches Sasuke how to use the _Sharingan_." The Hokage described the Bell Test, and then asked, "Do you think they will be able to do this?"

"Possibly. Some time ago, had you asked me that, I would have thought otherwise. It's Sasuke who would have been the problem, but I've managed to get through to him that teamwork would work better against his brother. I think I've also managed to introduce some doubt about that night, as there's some things about the Uchiha Clan Massacre that don't add up. Sakura Haruno's relationship with Naruto has improved. It helps that he's with Hinata and not asking Sakura out all the time. So there's a chance. What test is Anko giving Team Mage? She didn't tell me."

"I believe that they are basically doing a combined seek, locate and assassinate mission. They are to try and find Anko in the Forest of Death, and then try to 'kill' her. She'll be using Shadow Clones, of course."

* * *

"Did Kakashi just jab his fingers into Naruto's arse?!" Sirius yelped.

"That really isn't a secret technique, is it?" Lupin asked, facepalming.

"It is for Kakashi," the Hokage muttered, trying to resist the urge to facepalm. "He's taken on too many of Obito's characteristics…"

Fawkes seemed to snicker from his perch.

* * *

"Did Anko just hurl an explosives seal at them?" Lupin asked in horror.

"She believes in realistic training," the Hokage said.

"But that's lethal!"

" _Very_ realistic training."

* * *

"Zombie Ninja David Bowie is their sensei(1)! This is the greatest fight ever!" Sirius cheered.

The Hokage looked at Lupin. "Who in the name of the Sage of the Six Paths is David Bowie?"

Fawkes began singing a song that only Sirius and Remus recognised as _Space Oddity_.

* * *

"So that's what Anko looks like naked," Sirius murmured appreciatively. "You jammy bastard, Moony."

"Trust Luna to do something like that," Lupin groaned.

"Any shinobi worth their salt can fight naked," the Hokage said, even as a nosebleed threatened upon seeing Anko's assets getting a bit… _bouncy_.

Fawkes, from his perch, facepalmed with his wing.

* * *

"Well, at least they all passed," Lupin said, sighing in relief. "And I'm glad Anko isn't going to try and kill Luna."

"Anko would realise that it's a valid tactic," the Hokage said. "Why do you think I only give Naruto the slightest of reprimands for his Centrefold Jutsu? A ninja distracted by an apparition of a sexy girl would be vulnerable to attack. He just needs to learn when it is appropriate to use it."

Sirius had a happy, happy grin on his face, still savouring the memory of seeing Anko Mitarashi naked. "Like I said, Moony, you're a jammy bastard."

"Shut it, Padfoot, or I'll tell Tsume. Or I'll burn your _Icha Icha_ collection." He then returned his attention to the Hokage as Sirius spluttered indignantly. "Isn't this the first time Kakashi has passed a team?"

The Hokage nodded. "It was also the first time one of the teams actually teamed up to get the bells. It took a moment. It was the Haruno girl who actually realised it(2), but once she did, both Sasuke and Naruto worked together alongside her. Well, Sakura worked alongside Sasuke and Naruto. Give me a moment, I want to see how the other teams did…"

Soon, they learned that the only other teams to pass were Team 8 (composed of Hinata, Kiba Inuzaka, and Shino Aburame, under the eye of Kurenai Yuuhi) and Team 10 (comprised of Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka, under the guidance of Asuma Sarutobi). "Still, four teams passing is good," the Hokage said. "We have a frontline battle team in Team 7, a tracking and reconnaissance team in Team 8, a capture and interrogation iteration of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation in Team 10, and a versatile team, but one whom I intend to use in infiltration and intelligence-gathering, in Team 11."

"I still find it hard to believe that you shape your children into soldiers," Remus murmured. "Then again, I've read the history of this place. You've made shinobi of children as young as _six_ , if I recall what I read about Kakashi. No wonder he's…eccentric, to say the least. But Kakashi does take after one of his old team-mates, Obito Uchiha, wasn't it?"

The Hokage nodded. "Did he talk to you about it?"

"Reluctantly, at first. He only acceded when he asked me to tell me what life was like as a werewolf as well. I am grateful to him for the help he has given Naruto and Harry. And he was in ANBU, wasn't he?"

"Yes. I would be surprised at how you know, but I've noticed you have an enhanced sense of smell. You would have been able to identify him when he was Dog. As he has resigned his commission, there is no worry about security."

Sirius chuckled. "Oh, man. He's called Dog, and I turn into one. Hey, doesn't he have those dogs as a summon contract?"

The Hokage nodded. "In any case, your charges are now officially shinobi of Konoha. They won't be undertaking any missions outside of Konoha yet: they need a certain amount of D-Rank missions until they earn the right to do C-Ranks. And those should be the highest that any _genin_ should have to face. That being said, occasionally C-Ranks do turn out to be higher ranks, which is one of the reasons why a _jounin_ is in charge. And if there is one thing I can guarantee about both Kakashi and Anko, they will do what they can to get everyone out alive."

"Still…wizards as shinobi," Lupin murmured. "I think this calls for a celebration, don't you?"

* * *

In the Lupin/Mitarashi household, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, Luna, Kiba, Shino, and Harry were all gathered that evening to celebrate their graduation as _genin_. Even Sasuke had a smile on his face, albeit a somewhat grim one. All this meant that he was one step closer to avenging his clan. But even so, he found himself enjoying this, despite himself. Sai had gone back home, though the adults present knew that this was really back to ROOT. Not only were Anko, Lupin, and Sirius present, but so was Tsume Inuzaka, Kakashi, and the Hokage himself.

And what of Harry? Well, after today's events, he was tired, but in a good way. He had achieved a goal, of becoming a shinobi of Konoha. And he was glad of it.

It felt like he actually had control of his destiny now. That he could do what he wanted to in life, even if he had to fight for it. He had friends of many kinds, friends he wouldn't have had back home. And it felt like the past, while it still loomed over him, was something he could deal with.

His real father, Orochimaru, who desired his son as a vessel to keep himself alive. Dumbledore, a meddling old fool who wanted him as a puppet. Voldemort, who might still be out there, seeking revenge. He would have to be ready for all of them. But at least he had his friends by his side. And he had Fuu to exchange letters with.

This was certainly the first day of the rest of his life. And he hoped that the sins of his father wouldn't be visited upon him. But for the moment, he would live in the now…

* * *

Orochimaru looked down at the man who was probably his best experiment to date. It had been painful, true, but this man had been more trouble than he should have been. Not more trouble than he was worth: he wasn't young, and nowhere near as fit as the average shinobi, but at a pinch, he would do as a replacement body when his current one wore out. He did have other candidates.

Still, there were two bodies he truly desired. One was that of Sasuke Uchiha, and with him, the Sharingan. The other was his son, Harry Potter, aka Mitsuki Mitarashi. Of course, it wouldn't do to underestimate the little brat this time. His combination of magic and jutsus meant he was a formidable enough opponent, though he was still a child. And he lacked the experience of a seasoned shinobi.

He grinned in anticipation. If he was lucky, the Chunin Exams Konoha intended to hold some months from now might prove to be the right opportunity to mark Sasuke, and take his child back to Oto.

The man in the arena below was taking to using jutsu and magic together quite well. He wasn't as fast or strong as a shinobi, but he was already an experienced duellist in terms of magic, having even come up with some vile curses of his own. Orochimaru had been astonished, in a good way, when he had used one particularly vicious spell to slice up some of his prisoners with wounds that couldn't be healed easily. Even Kabuto couldn't heal them.

After the last opponent of the man fell, Orochimaru clapped. "Well done. Now, retire to your quarters. We have an invasion to plan."

Severus Snape barely kept the contemptuous look off his face, but bowed. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru," he said through gritted teeth, before leaving the arena.

* * *

There was chaos at Hogwarts. The Heir of Slytherin had struck again. The Chamber of Secrets had been opened. Dumbledore intended to swoop in when the time was right, as he couldn't have his intended pawn do that any longer, but not before he could make sure he could use this incident to his advantage, and find out how. He suspected a Horcrux, but he needed to make sure. He did know it was linked to Ginny Weasley, and once he had saved her (at the most opportune time, of course), the Weasleys would be bound to him stronger than ever.

Snape's failure in retrieving Potter, though, was more irritating. The man hadn't been seen for well over a year, and he had had to force that old nepotist Slughorn back into the role of Potions Master and Head of Slytherin. Fawkes hadn't returned either, and he was now certain that the damned bird had turned completely treacherous. And that angered him most of all.

Everything in Magical Britain served the ends of Dumbledore. From the Ministry to Hogwarts, from the Wealseys to that Muggleborn prodigy Granger, all lived to serve him and his purposes. The problem was, how to get Potter back under his control, where he belonged?

Dumbledore was patient. Soon, an opportunity would arise. And he would have Potter back into the fold. It would soon be as it should be.

 **CHAPTER 19 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And here you have it. The last chapter of** ** _Sins of the Father_** **. Now, before you all get upset at the sudden ending, please read my rationale.**

 **I have, frankly, too many fics to my name, and with this Christmas update, I decided to end at least one of them,** ** _Puella Magi Luna Magica_** **. As I tried to write for this chapter, however, I realised that ending this fic now, when the** ** _genin_** **teams have been formed, was a natural, if somewhat abrupt end to this part of the story. Yes, I did end the story more or less as it was getting to a good point, but I was getting tired of the story for the moment, and felt this the right place to do so.**

 **This does not mean that this is the end of the actual story. Later on, I intend to pick up where I left off with a sequel. You guys won't get it for a long while, frankly, but I will be writing the further adventures of Harry Potter, the son of Orochimaru later on. But this is the end of this particular fic.**

 **Review-answering time! A number of people noted how I portrayed Danzo. My rationale is that, while a ruthless and pragmatic man who has done many vile things (ROOT and what happened to Nagato being cases in point), he is also someone who does want to try and do his best to protect Konoha, in his own way. He does get megalomania, so to speak, from what I've read of his appearance in** ** _Shippuden_** **, but here, this is a little time before he devolves that far.**

 **1\. A reference to a wonderfully hilarious line in episode four (** ** _Bowie no Jutsu!_** **) of** ** _Naruto: The Abridged Comedy Fandub Spoof Series Show_** **. I love that line.**

 **2\. This is a hint of Sakura's (hidden) character development, particularly given that she's already said earlier in the fic to be on better terms with Naruto. Plus, she was the one to understand the true meaning of the Bell Test in my other** ** _Naruto_** **fanfic,** ** _Observations of a Wannabe Kunoichi_** **.**


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